


Within This Universe

by LadyMcFuckUp



Category: One Piece
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-06-12
Updated: 2019-07-14
Packaged: 2020-05-02 07:57:51
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 43
Words: 124,076
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19194838
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LadyMcFuckUp/pseuds/LadyMcFuckUp
Summary: (High school au) After the departure of a best friend for college, Scarlet is left alone in her junior year of high school. Lonely and drifting, Scarlet finds a new set of friends, dives into her past and faces her fears while developing a feeling for a certain man with green hair while transitioning into a new way of life.





	1. Within This Universe I Will Pick Up My Pieces

With a long walk ahead of me I put on my jean jacket and my phone from off its charger.

"Have fun at school," Ace said as I grabbed my bag off the couch.

"Yeah sure, it will be tons of fun now that you're not there to burn the place down, again," I said. Ace stood over the stove making some form of breakfast for the final time.

"Hey, that was only one time, and it was an accident," he proclaimed but I knew he didn't do it on purpose.

"Yeah I know, have fun moving out on your own," I said indicating at all the boxes splashed across the apartment.

"Yeah, totally." Ace said softly as I walked outside the apartment, not even bother to lock the door considering Ace was still inside and might leave very soon after me. I took a deep breath once the door was shut. I was going through so many emotions at once that I decided to do the mindless thing and put one foot forward and the other as I walked downstairs. Back down to the first floor from the fourth floor since the elevator was broken. That's the drawback from living on the top floor of an apartment building, the damn stairs. It sucks that Ace has to move out now because now he has to drag everything downstairs rather than stock up the elevator like we did when he moved in.  
Now, I walk outside in the heated August wind and pop my earbuds in. "Do I Wanna Know," by Arctic Monkeys starts first as I put my music on shuffle. I listen and tune in with the beat as each pulse of the song becomes a step. By the time I crossed the crosswalk, I had walked about a mile or two and "Riptide" by Vance Joy plays and I smile on how fluid my choice of music is.  
Finally about two miles later I reach the grand steps to the school in which I had been attending for three years now, Grand Line High School. "Seven Nation Army," by The White Stripes pulses in my ears as I step each step and walk a path in front of me. This school almost burns me to enter. This is a private school for the 'elite' in the Four Seas. My father makes me attend this stupid high school, I would have been just fine in a public school, but no. A man of his status' daughter should go to the best schools and have the best grades nonetheless. It was Ace who came to me playing "Skinny Love" by Bon Iver in his ear that made this place seem worth my time. This year, however, was different, now that he attends New World University, I'm all alone again. I passed the same old faces mixed with some new ones, as I head up the second floor where my first-period class was held.

I looked back to my locker and started filling it up with what I needed. I saved everything I had from my locker last year and once I got my books inside, I began hanging the pictures of Ace and I as well as a single picture of my mom on the inside of my locker's door. Once I had finished that, I took out my English book and walked three doors down to my new English class.

Robin and Zoro ended up having the same first period as me and I could tell by the way the teacher looked at them, they were the Jesse and James in his eyes and got stuck sitting between them.

I looked at the both of them, they had shown no emotion to the ruling, almost as if they expected this. Robin looked at me and smiled.

"Scarlet, right?" she asked. I raised my eyebrow wondering why she would talk to me.

"Yeah, Robin Nico, right?" I asked, trying to play it like I didn't care. Robin chuckled.

"The now there's a trio of trouble," Robin whispered to me and Zoro, including him into the conversation. The comment confused me, why was she including me? She never has before, and we barely knew each other, in fact, I thought she only knew of my existence. I said nothing and looked at Zoro lean more into his chair while trying to balance a pencil on his lips. Today I noticed he wore three golden earrings on one side and had on a white t-shirt with NASA printed on the front and a black leather jacket. He wore a brown belt that held up his tight dark blue jeans with rips at the thigh and knee. He wore black military boots that were laced with a green shoestring.

I looked back at Robin and I noticed that today she flaunts a black and white flannel and a black pencil skirt. Simple but very much her to my understanding. I felt odd in a ruffled white sleeveless and a jean jacket with ripped up light blue jeans on. I didn't have the best fashion sense and sometimes I get super self-conscious about my body. I never understood how the girls in our school could do it, with the tight clothing and the sexy outfits. I shake the thoughts away but they always had a nasty habit of coming back. 

"Ushio Ukama?" Mr. Shanks asked aloud while taking attendance. Mr. Shanks has bright red hair and aftershave that made him look like an actual man. He only had one arm and three slashed scars across one eye but you can tell he didn't need the other one nor cared about the scars.

"It's Scarlet," I said clearly. "Just, Scarlet,". Mr. Shanks scribbled something on the attendance.

"Just Scarlet, huh," he replied and moved on with the attendance roll, I looked up and up towards the front I saw his black hair. It was better than last year when I was stuck with Marco, but Law and I still had our issues. I could feel his knowledge of my presence in the room, like a clog in the air. I looked at my desk rather than starring at his skinny figure. Being so wrapped up in Ace's world had distracted me from how shitty mine was.

-X-  
  
"Hey," Zoro said as he approached stone steps I found myself at during lunch. It was normally very quiet because it was the steps leading up to behind the old gym. The building itself was going to collapse at any moment and had been built during the thirties, but it sheltered those who wished to play on their phones and listen to music. I was sitting alone eating yogurt while scrolling through my Instagram feed.

"Oh!" I said, surprised. "Where are the pose?" I asked, peeking behind him, looking for anyone behind him, but to another surprise, he was alone.

"Everywhere else for today," Zoro explained and sat down a step below me on the steps. 

"All of them?" I asked a little suspicious while digging into my yogurt with my plastic spoon. 

"Yeah, I guess so, no one was the usual spot," Zoro said as sat his backpack down on the ground. We were silent for a while until I couldn't take it anymore.

"So, what's it like being in dojo?" I asked. Zoro groaned.

"You're like the 12th person to ask me that," Zoro complained. I groaned, stabbing my yogurt cup.

"Sorry Mr. Popular," I said, a little crossed.

"No its fine, it pays for my tuition and all. I've heard you're pretty good with a sword, why don't you join?" he asks.

"Never really crossed my mind, been busy with other things," I breathed, looking down the goopy cherry yogurt. For a cherry flavor, it matched with more of pink than a red, as the pink hue blood gives to water.

"Well, if you're interested," He opened his bag up and pulled out a lame PB&J. "Than stay after school today," Zoro said like it was no big deal.

"I thought tryouts ended sometime this summer?" I pointed out. Zoro shrugged.

"I'm the captain, just show up after school and say you want to try out. The coach takes late ones sometimes," he said.

"Yeah, okay, but I swear, if I dragged into any super anime fights, I'm burning the place down," I said.

"Deal," he said and I took my last bite of yogurt. The bell strung its awful conclusion and I rose with my backpack.

"See you then," I said.

"See ya," Zoro said, still sitting down on the stone steps I had risen from.

-X-

No matter how I looked at it, it was weird that Zoro had sat and eaten lunch with me. Normally he would just sit alone or sit with his crew, or so I thought. I found it even weirder how the second Ace leaves, his little brother's crew seems to have a sudden interest in me. Robin talking to me, Zoro eating lunch with me, and Franky helping me pick up my books in the hallway after I dropped them, and even Chopper seemed to have taken notice of my existence. It felt so weird for someone you thought you barely knew to come up to you as if you knew them your entire life.

What if it was all in my head? Like maybe the fact of how more aware I am in my own presence that I take social interactions more noticeable? I tried thinking of reasons why today seemed so different, other than it was the first day back. I chewed on the thought like a piece of meat until after school, turning it over in my head and evaluating the pros and cons of it. Dojo wasn't necessarily my thing, I mean yeah sure, at one point I took fencing classes after my piano lessons when my mom was still around, but dojo? Dojo was a whole different ballpark with the movements, discipline, and overall style. I was used to a western style and to switch to eastern with not so much of a thought, seemed immediate for me. On the other hand, I had a lot more time on my hands with Ace gone. I could possibly at least give it a shot, what's the worse that could happen? It's not as if my reputation wasn't in the shit hole, and maybe being on a team would actually do me some good, mentally speaking.

 


	2. Be Safe Avoiding Him

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ace finally says goodbye.

I could have gone to the tryouts. I needed a reason not to go home today, I hate goodbyes. After all these years, and even living together, I don't think I can stand a goodbye. So I'm going to let things be how they are. I stopped by a liquor store and bought some rum with my fake ID and some coke bottles. I went into the bathroom and I poured some of both into a coffee cup with a lid and stirred it with a random pencil. I walked out listening "Scar Tissue" by Red Hot Chili Peppers and continued sipping on my shitty little mix drink in a coffee cup.

"Quite a new low, Scarlet," I whispered to myself as I walked outside in the bright sun.  
I walked around town until I decided to go to the park. The swings were always open, and the only real downside was there was probably a hoard of potheads there by now. The park was surrounded by woods and there was a mass of different deer stands collected together that's normally either used by hunters or potheads. But somehow being high and high up in the air is great. I make my way towards the park and found it almost empty, which was an unlikely stroke of luck for me.  
The swings were open and I headed straight for them. I sat down at the highest one, mainly because I was a 'taller' person. That was part of my description that you could give about me. Brown hair, a weird assortment of green and blue eyes, and tall. Yeah I mean, if you want to go into detail, I am kind of slim but I'm nowhere near a stick. I get my figure from my Mom, who was like an Amazonian warrior. Complete with the body type and everything, and I always get told how much I look like when she was my age. She could fight too, and she was amazing at almost everything. She wasn't you're a typical mom at all, in fact, I think she got into a fight with a U.F.C. fighter and won.  
I swing back and forth slowly, listening to my music. "I Wish" comes on by Eisley as each melody played, I felt the mid-afternoon wind weave through my hair. An engine sound disrupted the peace in the park and I looked up. It was someone on a green and black motorcycle and I watched as the driver turned the corner and stopped and parked in the parking lot right as the song ended. The driver turned off the ignition and got off the bike. I stopped swinging in curiosity and took out my music. The driver looked at me and walked over to my swing and took off their helmet as they sat down at the swing next to me. Green hair sprang out of the helmet and the sun bounced off his tan skin.

"Are you still mad?" he asked, his deep voice serious.

"Not anymore, really," I said, still swinging. Zoro sighed and craned his neck.

"Do you still want to try out?" Zoro asked, his voice leveling.

"Why do you care? I never existed to you until now," I spat. Zoro made a heavy sigh.

"Because if we don't get any new members this year, the team is done and our funding gets cut," Zoro said very seriously, then looked up at me. "Luffy told me you owned a sword and knew how to use it, so I figured maybe you could help,". I slowed my swinging and tried to get a good look at Zoro. With the sun illuminating him, you could say he was handsome for sure. But a handsome face won't be enough to convince me.

"You came all the way out here to ask me to join?" I said, nearly stopping. 

"No, I came to pick you up. You wouldn't make it on foot," he said and got up from his swing. He reached for the chains of my swing and stopped them with ease, almost jerking me forward. 

"What the hell? You can't force me to join! How did you even know where I was?" I asked. Zoro stared me down with green eyes like his life relied on my cooperation. I stood up and glared up at him, our chests inches from each other.

"Robin told me. Now come on, I'm sure I have an extra helmet somewhere." Zoro said but I stood firm.

"I'm good, there's always next year," I said. 

"There won't be unless it's today," He growled. "That's why I'm here,".

"What's in it for me then?" I asked, not giving an inch. Zoro lowered his eyes at me then looked down at my cup. A glint in eyes steamed through and looked back up at me with new resolve.

"A bottle of whatever you want," he said. I couldn't help but smirk and lean in closer.

"Deal," I whispered into his ear. "Just know that I like good liquor," I backed away and walked towards his bike knowing exactly what part of me he was looking at. Zoro's face was red but caught up to me and got onto his bike, handed me a helmet and let me get on as he turned on the ignition. Instead of holding onto him, I squeezed my thighs together to hold on as an alternative to touching him.

"I see what you're trying to do, but trust me you will fall off. So hurry we have like five minutes." Zoro said. I choked down a sarcastic reply and put my arms around his waist. "Hold on,". Then we crawled backward before he hit the gas, causing us to speed down the road. I mean we went FAST, I had to hold on to him as tight as I could just to stay on the bike. When I saw the dojo building that was located behind the school, Zoro whipped into the parking lot and put his bike in the park.

Zoro got off the bike and ripped off his helmet and I followed. As we were walking up to the dojo, Zoro turned into a fucking ninja and ripped off his jacket and pants while walking to reveal a black training robe.

"How the fuck did you do that?" I asked.

"Oh, that? Years of being late," Zoro said as we entered the dojo. "Take off your shoes, the coach is pretty strict on that.". I entered the dojo behind him (without shoes on) and practice was already in secession. The dojo building was an old building the school had stashed away that was an old football training building. They just ripped up the tarp and added matts. 

"Mr. Roanona!" a voice said. I looked to whom the voice belonged to but I didn't see anyone who could match a voice that deep.

"Here," Zoro said. Finally, a figure came into view and almost groaned to who it was. He had black hair and was slicked back, with a black goat tee and wore a weird purple v neck and black pants. 

"You're late. Again. What's your excuse?" Hawkeye Mihawk said. 

"I had to pick up someone," Zoro said, standing tall.

"I'm guessing this someone is the girl standing behind you?" Hawkeye asked.

"Yes. Her name is Scarlet and wants to join the team." Zoro said, trying to explain as quickly as he could.

"I'm well aware of who she is. If she wants to join the team that's fine with me. It's her father I'm worried about." he said. Zoro turned to look at me and gave me a confused face.

"Told you," I said, shrugging. 

"And another thing, if she got permission from her father than she would have to start from square one like the rest of us. Unless she can prove otherwise." Hawkeye said. 

"Do I need to get his signature or something?" I asked poking out from behind Zoro. 

"That would be for the best, yes," he said. I squatted down and zipped open my backpack. I pulled out a slip of paper with my dear old man's signature on it and handed it to Hawkeye. 

"He approves of this?" he asked suspiciously. 

"Clear as day. Really it took about half the council to convince him and you know how the media is, so that influenced him as well. You got to be equal to everyone when you're in his position." I said. Hawkeye looks at the signature very carefully and looked back at me.

"She stays. Get her ready Mr. Roanona, she fights Tashigi." Hawkeye said. 

-X-

"I thought you said your Dad wouldn't let you?" Zoro asked as we entered the locker rooms. 

"Oh definitely not, I forget that," I said.

"Really? And it fooled Hawkeye?!" Zoro asked.

"Oh no, he probably knows it's forged," I said. 

"Than why would he let you on the team?" he asked.

"My Mom probably, they knew each other pretty well and she was always saying how strong her daughter will be so he's probably doing it for her," I said. Zoro handed me a robe and pointed to a changing room.

"So you're telling me that the stone hawk is doing this for the sake of your mom?" he asked. I headed towards the changing barrier and began to change into the robe. 

"Yeah. That sums it up pretty well." I said. 

"Then why not just your mom's signature?" Zoro asked I came out of the changing room in a white robe.

"Because she's dead," I said. I walked past Zoro in his daze and came out of the locker rooms. "So who's this Tashigi person?" I asked. Zoro came out, snapping out his dazed state.

"Her," Zoro said. He pointed to a girl with short black hair wearing a black robe as well. She was not that tall and was wearing glasses and holding her sword in an awkward way. 

"Oh," I said. "So what are the terms?" I asked. 

"Typically when a newbie defeats a higher rank than the newbie will get that rank. Or at least that's how this team works. Honestly, its suppose to assess you on your skills with a sword so technically you don't need to win, Tashigi is right under the vice-captain so take her seriously." Zoro said. 

"Okay got it," I said. I walked out and Zoro gave me a sword. 

"Good luck," he said. Then he went to go sit down in a circle of boys that surrounded me and Tashigi.

"Thanks," I said. Hawkeye came into view and stood between Tashigi and me.

"Okay, the rules are simple. Scarlet if you can defeat Tashigi than you will subsume her role under vice-captain and not have to start from square one. Understood?" he asked.

"Yes," I said.

"Yes," said Tashigi. 

"Good, Scarlet I presume you know what you're doing?" Hawkeye asked. I moved my foot back into a wider stance and held my sword in front of me with both hands. 

"Of course," I said. "Snap Out Of It," by Arctic Monkeys started to ring through my head as Tashigi widened her stance as well.

"Then you may begin," Hawkeye said and Tashigi lunged at me. It was an easy block and a push off for her to get off. She came to me again though. She slashed but I was able to dodge. 

"Isn't the captain suppose to know not to bring another man's girlfriend to practice?" she said. Once again she slashed at me and this time I blocked again and pushed her back again. 

"I wouldn't be aware of that since I'm not anyone's girlfriend," I said. I came at her but faster hitter her sword with force.

"Oh yeah I forget you got that Ace boy on a leash, don't you?" she asked. That fueled my anger quick. I launched at her with full force fast and hard. Which each blow and another slash to the sword the other swordsmen sitting down around us began to murmur. I saw Tashigi glance at them as the breathed hard when she finally pushed back. 

"You shouldn't take your eyes off me, you know," I said. I shot at her, hitting her sword at her hand, disarming her and put a swift kick to the leg and she was down on the mats. I stayed where I was in a defensive stance, ready to attack she got up. But she didn't, she stayed down.

"Scarlet, well done. I thought your mother might have snuck some lessons to you. Welcome to the team." he said. I looked at Tashigi as she was getting up, she was glaring at me.

"Yeah, I don't use them a whole lot though. Thanks," I said. 

"As you know, you now take Tashigi's rank and she has bumped down a rank. I'm sure our captain will inform you of all the practices. We go against Alabasta Crocodiles in three weeks." he said and then turned away to write something on his clipboard. The team began to crowd me asking so many questions at one time. I smiled for a minute but it was gone the minute someone came behind me and slapped my back. 

"Way to go! I knew you could do it!" Luffy screamed. 

"LUFFY?!" I said. I turned around and Ace was with him too. 

"Yep, we watched the whole thing. We got here about twenty minutes ago." Ace said.

"I thought you were on you're way to the university?! What are you guys doing here?" I asked. 

"I was but I had to drop Luffy off to get some stuff from school. Then we ran into Law who said he was on his way to practice and Robin was with him. So she told me I should go to the dojo because you were here with Zoro for tryouts. I figured I'd stop by." Ace said. By this time I was rubbing my face in frustration, hating how bad my luck is. One of the reasons I walked around town was to avoid this kind of thing.

"Thank you for showing up although, you don't need to. In fact, how about you go to college and get that degree and come back when you're done?" I said awkwardly. "Now go, you have to be there by tomorrow. I trust everything is out of the apartment?" I asked. I began to walk to the changing room but Ace followed.

"Yeah yeah I know. Everything's out, took me forever but Marco and some of the gang helped out." Ace said. I went inside and walked behind the changing barrier.  
"Good," I said as I hid behind the barrier. My heart was beating fast and I didn't want to step out from my wall.

"Listen I know you hate goodbyes and all, but that's what I came here for." Ace said. I took a deep breath and continued to change as slowly as I could. I stayed silent hoping Ace would just leave, but he didn't. I stepped out of the changing barrier fully clothed in my jean jacket and ruffled shirt with jeans. 

"Than goodbye," I said. I kept walking forward but Ace grabbed my arm and pulled me closer for a hug. He wrapped his arms around me and I felt incredibly warm like I could melt right there in his arms. The feeling made me want to cry knowing how the will the last time I will feel his warmth. He'll go off and find a girl, a woman, and want to spend all his time with her. He'll forget all about Scarlet, who was stuck in a city that hated her.

"Goodbye Scarlet. Thanks for everything." Ace said, his voice trembling. 

"Yeah, thanks for everything too, have fun at New World," I said weakly. I pulled away from him and stepped back. "See ya," I said, trying to shove down every amount of emotion I had.

"See ya," Ace said and nodded at me. He let go and turned away from me, then walked out the locker room doors, disappeared through them.


	3. Throw Back Some Jack Because Now You Owe Me a Favor

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> New couch, new ride, and hopefully more beer.

Walking home I decided to be an idiot and take a shortcut home through the south side area. Where every stop sign is defaced and drug deals are at every corner. I walk up to one of the glorious defaced stop signs and waited for cars to pass. This stop sign said "Stop" of course but under it "being such a dick" was written in bright blue paint. Classic. Just classic. Luffy and Ace used to live on this side of town before Ace got a bunch of money from their dead dad from large life insurance deposit that he didn't know about. Ace used the money for him and Luffy to go to school after Ace moved in with me and Luffy moved in with Usopp because their friend Sabo went missing. Ace still pays Luffy's tuition and now he pays for what the scholarship doesn't pay for. It's funny how right before Luffy moved in with Usopp, Ace and I were moving around the apartment because he gonna live with us. Ace somehow convinced me and when we were going to tell him, he came in all happy with Usopp saying that he was going to move in with him. We figured he would be more happy with Usopp and let him do his own thing.   
When the cars stopped coming and I crossed the street following the cracked sidewalks along the road while playing "Stolen Dance" by Milky Chance. Whistling to the tune I make my way across the crosswalks. As it began to get late I quicken my step because it gets pretty bad around here at night. Especially if your a girl with expensive clothes on. You're a walking target around here if you have anything worth value. Street lights flicker on slowly and the shadows began to dance. My pace quickened and my eyes looked around. People began to lessen and soon it was just me on the sidewalk. My playlist carries on and everything seems fine for a while. I keep the guard up and put my hands in my pockets where my knife was. I held it my pocket and was almost jogging home at this point. I stop at another crosswalk and waited for the cars to pass by. 

 

"Why did you have to get the top floor? That couch was a BITCH to move." A voice said. I turned my head and it was only Marco. A blonde pineapple head with a little scruff that had a thing for purple flannels. 

"He took the couch?" I asked. He stepped closer to me. 

"Yeah, he wanted to remove his presence completely. You know how he is. You haven't been home yet?" Marco asked.

"No, I was at tryouts for the dojo," I said and walked across the street, Marco followed me.

"I bet you made it." He said. 

"Right under the vice-captain already," I said.

"You beat Tashigi? Holy shit." Marco said. The cars stopped and I walked on. "Hey, let me walk you. I know you beat Tashagi but the guys here are tougher than there."

"No thanks, I'm good," I said and kept walking faster.

"Ace would've wanted me to anyways," Marco replied. I sighed. 

"Suit yourself but you're not coming in." I spat.

"What kind of man do you take me for?!" Marco said.

"A pervert best friend of my best friend," I said, very bluntly.

"Well at least you're honest," he said. We walked for a while making small talk here and there. I reached my house and Marco waited on the lawn outside and wouldn't leave until I entered my apartment. Once home, after having a huge day, I opened the cabinet and got out my old buddy Jack Daniel and started to knock it back until I slept without nightmares.

-X-

A month later it was cold and rainy and I was sitting around my now empty living room watching Netflix when my phone started ringing. I sat there for a good while, too lazy to get up because I just got comfortable with the pallet I made on the floor, made out of blankets that I found laying around. But I ran out of my drink so I got up in search of a new one and picked up the phone in the process.

"Scarlet here. Who is this?" I said as I opened the fridge.

"Took you long enough,". A deep voice responded. It was Zoro and that comment made me roll my eyes.

 

"What do you want bone head?" I asked as I leaned into the fridge and grabbed a container of apple juice.

"I'm sitting here with Franky and he was wondering how you got to school in the mornings," Zoro said. I sipped at my apple juice which at the moment tasted like the liquid of the gods. 

 

"Wow, that's not creepy at all. Why exactly?" I asked bluntly. I wanted him to get straight to the point.

"Got to tell your mode of transportation first, Red." I hear Franky say in the background.

"My name is Scarlet, not red. Am I on speaker?" I asked.

"Well, Scarlet is technically a shade of red. Anyways yes you are on the speaker." Zoro said. 

"Whatever, I walk to school. I live a couple of blocks away." I say after finishing my apple juice. 

"Wait, don't you live in Fokomako Apartments or something?" Zoro asked.

"Yokogawa Apartments," I say.

"That's more than a couple of blocks. That's a couple of miles. Like I don't think they're on the same side of town." Zoro said. 

"Oh yeah Fokomawa is on the southeast side and school is on the Northwest side of town. Damn you're living right next to the ghetto." Franky said.

"I am aware of the environment I am in," I told them. "Now can you please tell me what exactly what you wanted?" I blurted out. 

"Hang on, we're like ten minutes away," Franky said as he laughed. "We'll tell you when we get there.". I wanted to retaliate but an evil thought crept into the mind that made me almost giggle. If they wanted to come over uninvited-fine. What they didn't know what the number of stairs that needed to be climbed to get to me. 

 

I threw away the bottle of apple juice in the trash can next to the kitchen counter and headed for my balcony and hung up the phone, then waited.  
I turned off Netflix and turned on my stereo which selected a playlist and started playing "Knee Socks" by Arctic Monkeys. It took like twenty minutes until they finally knocked at my door. I opened the door with their hands at their knees, breathing hard. I had time to get a bottle of beer and a new playlist going. 

"Why isn't the elevator working?" Franky wheezed.

"I have no idea actually, I think a couple of kids were being stupid and broke it somehow," I said. Zoro stood up with beads of sweat on his forehead and looked at my new drink like it was an oasis. He grabbed it and I swear he threw the whole thing upside down and chugged it dry. 

"Oh my god that cold beer tasted as it came from like Buddha or something," Zoro said.

"That's not fair! Why did you give him one? I'm in worse shape than he is! I want one Red!"Franky whined. They came inside and I locked the door behind them.

"I didn't give him one he took it out of my hand!" I said. "And for the last time, my name isn't Red!". Zoro walked in the apartment and looked around with Franky in tow.

"Well anyways that an ungodly amount of stairs. You definitely need a ride a school." Franky said. He went over to the fridge and pulled out a beer and cracked it open. 

"Hey, you didn't ask for that!" I said.

"Hey, I want one too," Zoro said and walked over to the fridge.

"Hey, no fair you already had one!" Franky said and held the box of beer above his head, touching the ceiling.

"I chugged it so it doesn't count," Zoro said, trying to reach the box of beer.

"Yes, it does! That almost counts as two because of the consumption rate." Franky spat.

"Will both of you cool it? Jesus, you bicker like old women. Now please back this up for me. What exactly have you brought that's suppose to help me get to school?" I asked. 

"Holy shit you don't have a couch," Franky said. Zoro took this chance and jumped. He grabbed the box of beer and ran to the other side of the room, taking the last beer. He popped it open and started chugging it.

"And you're out of beer," Zoro said once he was finished.

"OH MY GOD ANSWER MY FUCKING QUESTION OR GET OUT!!!" I yelled. 

"Okay fuck. We got an old ride in the shop that we found on the side of the road about a year ago and no one has claimed it so the garage guy said we should give it to someone who needs it. It's all fixed up it's just an older model and everyone already has a way to school so we thought you might need it," Franky said.

"What kind of ride?" I asked. Zoro's feet shifted.

"It's a motorcycle," Zoro said.

"Cool. I don't have my license though." I said. 

"That's another reason why actually. No one else we know has a motorcycle license. I mean besides me." Zoro said. 

"Well, I don't see how I'm any help to you," I said. 

"You can get it illegally, I mean we know a guy," Franky said. 

"I can't just study and get one like a normal person?" I asked. 

"It's probably best you do it that way but the cops around here can barely catch Usopp and he's a shit driver so I think you will be fine," Zoro said. 

"I'll do it, but what do YOU want in return?" I asked.

"What?" Franky asked.

"I don't believe after a month of just hanging out you're going to give me a motorcycle and help me get my license at no cost to me. I'm not stupid." I said. Zoro and I had been slowly spending more and more time together due to having dojo together and have at least two classes together. And with Zoro, came Franky in tow. 

"Okay. You have a point. I see why you would think that." Zoro said.

"What's your price?" I asked.

"It's bothering me that you don't have a couch or any beer left." Franky peeped up, staring at the emptiness of my living room.

"How is that relevant?" I asked.

"We can work out the details on the way to the furniture store, let's go," Franky said.

"And the beer store. But I am not going down those god damn stairs again." Zoro said. 

"There's a balcony you can feel free to jump off of," I said bluntly. 

"I'll take my chances with the balcony," Franky said. 

"Well, you guys are going to have to wait for me to come up with the money to buy a couch and for me to walk down the stairs and get dressed because I'm wearing track shorts with a stained tank top," I said. 

"Stained with what?!" Zoro asked. I shrugged.

"Blood," I said and shrugged. Zoro raised his eyebrow but gave me a wild smirk.

"Fuck it. I'm buying them and I'm not waiting that long, Zoro gives her your jacket or something." Franky said and ran all the way to the balcony and jumped off. And during that Zoro swiftly took off his jacket and grabbed me and ran off the balcony after him. I screamed because they just jumped four stories and I was being dragged quite literally. Zoro landed on each balcony on his feet until we landed on the ground and my heart was going a million places.

"OKAY PUT ME DOWN," I screamed. Zoro put me down with no argument and I landed softly on the grass. My demons came out of me and I looked at Zoro as if I could really kill him ."You do that ever again and I will kill you." I seethed. Zoro looked a little taken back by my facial expression. Normally, that look could make someone shit themselves.

"I believe you," Zoro said. There was a silence and I noticed that I was still wearing Zoro's jacket. It came way to down past my waist and stopped at mid-thigh. Franky broke the silence with his jeep that roared to life.   
"Let's get a move on!" Franky called.

"Why did you give me your jacket when you could have waited and just let me change shirts?" I asked.

"Didn't really think about it. And I didn't feel like waiting." Zoro said. I took off Zoro's jacket and gave it to him as I crawled into the back seat of the jeep. Zoro handed me back his jacket and stepped into the front seat.

"Just promise not to get blood on it." He said. I took and put it back on. It smelled like bourbon with a hint of leather left of out in the sun. 

"I didn't even get to lock my door," I said.

"You'll be fine. Nobody is going to climb all those stairs just so they can steal from a couch less apartment." Franky said.

"You're insane for jumping it," I said, my heart still pounding. 

"It was well worth it," Zoro said and chuckled.

-X-

When we got to the furniture store we didn't even have to pay for a couch, they just threw out really old ones in the dumpster out back. Zoro and Franky carried it and loaded it into the jeep and we drove off in the opposite direction. The couch was just a plain dark grey color made of cloth. I personally actually did like it and was glad they took that one out of all of them. 

"Okay, so we need to pick up some beer, and drop the couch off at her apartment," Zoro said.

"I want to see my motorcycle too," I said. 

"We can do that too," Franky said as he turned the radio back on and listened to whatever ended up playing. It turned out to be G-Eazy's "Leviathan".

It took an hour and a half for me to arrive at this garage that had my new(?) motorcycle. We had to drop off the couch and get it up to the number of stairs, come back down, and drive again. When Zoro opened up one of the storage units in the garage and I loved the bike as soon as eyes swept across it. It was black and red and was shiny like it had just been washed and polished. It was sleek and low to the ground and truly a beauty.

"You like it?" Zoro asked, chuckling. The tarp that covered the bike rested his hands and he was smiling.

"Yes, it's beautiful," I said with almost tears. I went up to it and laid my hand down on it and it sent shivers rippling through my body.

"I'll start teaching you then," Zoro said as he tossed the tarp to the other side of the storage unit. 

"Who said you could?" I asked.

"Fastest way to learn to have somebody teach you and if you haven't noticed, I'm the only other person that can teach you right now," Zoro said. Although I didn't want to admit it, he was right, he was.

"Fine, whatever," I said. But that didn't mean I had to like it. "So what's the price?".

"The price?" Franky asked.

"You know, the catch," I said. My hand was still on the bike and I could feel its power through the cold metal. 

"Oh that. Well, how about you owe each of us a favor. No matter what it is, you have to do it." Zoro said.

"Meaning, I owe you big time," I said. 

"Exactly," Zoro said. I sighed, knowing how badly I needed this, I had no choice but expect it.

"It just not better be anything perverted or sick," I said.

"You never know, it may be," Zoro said. I could see the gleam in his eyes that were just pure evil.

"Just don't," I said. 

"You have to do it though," Franky said.

"I know," I said. But it was definitely worth it.


	4. I Was Another Part of Nothing Good, Red Mother

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> With Scarlet now working at the Barite with Sanji and an odd game of twenty questions can lead to many things.

I lay there, frozen in fear that had crept on me like a snake, running up my spine and making my heart pound its way out of my chest. Even when I wake up from the nightmares, I'm still terrified. Sometimes I drink until oblivion, or stock up on sleeping pills that I can get from a girl downstairs, that way I see nothing but black. But that comes at a price, just like everything. And if you're wicked like me that nothing will be free, not even death. So the money for alcohol and pills has to come from somewhere, I don't have a job and I'm in my junior year. I have a fake ID so getting it is not the problem. In fact, even before I had it was never a problem because I just knew the right kind of wicked to help. So no, getting it wasn't something I worried about. It was getting the money was the pain in the ass. After taking deep and even breaths I tried to calm myself, enough to move my arm to get my phone. Once I had it in my palms, I quickly playlist that I had prepared just for this situation. I turned on the flashlight to illuminate my room, helping more in my effort to calm myself. Slow and even breaths, Scarlet. I looked back at my phone and in bright white numbers, four-fifteen am showed itself to me and I groaned. I couldn't go back to sleep after that nightmare, there was no way my body would let me. I threw the covers off of me and with grog, stepped into the kitchen to start a pot of coffee and then to the bathroom to start a bath, knowing that I never wanted another morning like this. 

Broke, out of food and booze, not to mention being very hungry at the moment, can drive a person to desperate measures. I stood outside the famous 5-star restaurant after school, located on the beach and looked at how the building was literally one big fish. I walked inside the Baratie, the restaurant on the lake. Inside was the interior of a normal 5-star restaurant; tables with white tablecloths, chairs and decorative figures and paintings on the walls all with a dark wooden floor. The front desk was straight in front of me as I walked in and a couple of feet behind it was stairs spiraling upward to the kitchen no doubt. I walked up to the desk and a rough built man was standing there who had a thick rope around his head. 

"Table for one?" he asked. His voice was gruff and tattoos decorated his forearms.

"I heard you guys were hiring," I said. The man looked at me with wide eyes complete shock.

"You are here for the ad we sent out?" He asked he sounding bewildered. 

"Yes, that is why I'm here," I said. The man looked around and leaned in.

"Are you sure you want to work HERE?" he whispered and gave me a look of concern.

"Was that a joke or something? I'm here for a job, and it said walk-ins were excepted." I said, trying to wrap my head around the situation. 

"Okay, if you're so sure," he said. "Let me just go check in with the boss,". The man left and went up to the sleek spiral stairs. I looked around the restaurant and noticed how packed it was even though it was a weeknight. This place has a lot going on, I wonder how does Sanji stand it? The man came back with another man behind him. The new man had short blonde hair that peaked out from his tall white chef's hat, the blonde beginning to grey in his long mustache that was braided all the way down to its tips. His eyes were a bright blue but looked at me very sternly and his face was coming to his own age. By the way, he walked, it was obvious that he had a prosthetic leg and from his all-white uniform, the black prosthetic peaked out from under it. 

"You here about the ad online?" he asked, very bluntly. 

"Yes," I said, already trying to bite back an attitude. 

"Well it was a joke, so go home," the man said and attempted to turn away, but I cocked my head and opened my mouth instead of leaving.

"You know I noticed how there weren't any female employees around here, care to explain why?" I asked. The man lowered his eyes. I already knew from Sanji from his bitching that there weren't any girls on his old man's staff on purpose. When I saw the ad when I laying in the tub this morning, I really thought about it. Despite every brain cell screaming at me not to, I brought myself to at least give it a try with a deadly set of cards. 

"What are you implying, girl?" he asked, nearly seething. He looked at me from behind his shoulder like I had told him that I would kill him. 

"Oh you know, discrimination against hiring females can go for a heavy price in a lawsuit, you know," I said. The man started to look mad but I pushed it a bit further. "And we both know that ad wasn't a joke.". There was a long silence and I just looked at the man with the same look he gave me. 

"What's your name, girl?" he asked, squinting at me, still angry. 

"Scarlet," I said, trying not to sound like I was ready to leave this place on fire. The man took a really deep breath, trying not to get angry. The man from the front desk leaned in the chef's ear and whispered something. 

"Alright Scarlet, you're hired. You start by clean up duty. My name is Zeff, and I'm the top chief here and owner. This is Patty, you start tomorrow." he said.

"Wait, Zeff," Patty said. He whispered something in Zeff's ear. Zeff kept the same facial expression until he closed his eyes and sighed. 

"Change of plans girly, we're low on waiters so you start as a waitress," Zeff said. "Any experience with that?" he asked.

"No," I said, with the same deadpanned voice I gave him earlier. 

"Great. Well, I'll get Sanji to teach you,". Zeff said almost smiling as if he knew what exactly what I would have to put up with. I rose my hand to protest.

"That's not ness-" I began to say but Zeff was already screaming his name. Then I heard a groan from someone in the kitchen that sounded exactly like Sanji. Within seconds, Sanji came through the black doors on the kitchen with four plates crawling up his arms looking pissed.

"What is it, old shit?" Sanji spat. Sanji had on a black striped suit with a blue dress shirt underneath and a black tie that looked silky. His blonde hair was combed to cover one side of his face and his blue eyes were blazing.

"You have a waitress to train," Zeff said, almost smiling. 

"Bullshit old man, no girls apply here," Sanji said. "They're all scared away by you're ugly faces,". As Sanji rounded the corner, he continued to bitch at his father until he caught a glimpse of me. Sanji stopped dead in his tracks and stared at me. "SCARLET?". Sanji looked like he was panicking. "What's a beautiful girl like you applying here? Do you have any idea what these men are like?!". 

"I don't have the resources to just leave. You don't have to teach me, I can figure it out by myself." I said, looking away from Sanji, but his footsteps became quicker and harder down the stairs. 

"This is a joke, right? Moss head must have set you up for this. I'll get that idiot!" Sanji said, extremely pissed.

"Jesus, do you ever listen to me? I am here on my own free will. I just need a part-time job, chill out." I said. 

"I'm still processing the fact that there's a girl on the staff," Patty whispered and ran up the stairs, not wanting to get in the middle of whatever that was happening downstairs. 

"Just make sure you two come here straight after school tomorrow. And be ready to work," Zeff said and turned away from me and Sanji walked past me with hot plates still in his hands. 

Somehow we ended up where it all began, in my apartment, on my (new) couch with Red Hot Chili Peppers blaring through the speakers of my stereo. But this time, Ace wasn't the one on my couch, it was Zoro, with a bottle of Jack Daniels. 

"You should let me choose the next song," Zoro said as he took a swing of Jack. 

"My place, my music," I said and took the bottle from Zoro and drank some. We were supposed to be "studying" but we opened our books on the coffee table and that's as far as we got. 

"Maybe we should have brought Robin or Chopper so we could do some actual studying," Zoro said as he stared down at the books. One book was math, the other chemistry. Both were mine, Zoro brought the whiskey. 

"Yeah, I have to take the S.A.T.s sometime in April I think," I said, squinting trying to remember what the sign-up sheet had said when I filled it out. 

"It's like October," Zoro said. It was, in fact, Saturday the 23rd. 

"I'm stalling," I said. Zoro took a long drink whiskey than set the bottle down on the coffee table. 

"How come you live alone?" Zoro asked bluntly and I was startled by the question and looked at him as if Zoro had stepped on a nerve. 

"How come you have green hair?" I shot back. Zoro gave me a deathly look, but I gave it back to him.

"Do you really want to play this game of 20 questions?" Zoro asked, raising his eyebrow.

"Is that a question?" I asked. "Because I will gladly play this game,". Zoro rolled his eyes.

"I don't know why my hair is green. It's always like this and everyone thinks I dye it but I don't, like never." Zoro said. "Now how come you live alone?".

"My dad pays for the apartment because he wants me closer to school," I said, bluntly without blinking. 

"School is on the other side of town from here," Zoro said, giving me a confused look and adjusted himself more on the couch. 

"I know," I said, raising my eyebrows, like I haven't questioned every decision my father had made, ever. Zoro looked at me and slowly with a look of confusion and I saw the gears in his head slowly start to turn. When he figured it out he gave me a more serious face, there wasn't any pity in his face which is the first time someone ever did that for me. I hated being pitted, who said I wanted my Dad anyway? 

"So what do you do for food?" Zoro asked. I chuckled, out of all the questions and that was the first one he asked?

"Before I turned 16, I would get checks from him for the month, it was barely anything really. But afterward, they stopped coming, so I did all sorts of odd jobs. But now I work at Baratie," I said. Zoro was in mid-drink and started coughing trying to choke and spit out the whiskey onto the rug. 

"You work with- eyebrows?" Zoro wheezed out, his eyes already bloodshot. He continued to cough until he could breathe again. "Does that mean you're the hot waitress people won't shut up about?" 

"Well I'm the only girl who works there, and Sanji works there too," I said, trying not to think about how Zoro sort of just called me hot. "Now I get two questions,". Zoro leaned more into the couch, his eyes returning to white.

"Fine, fire away," he said, but clearly he had more questions to ask.

"How did you meet Luffy and the rest of your group?" I asked. Zoro looked at me and blinked, he paused trying to think and licked his cracked lips. 

"Well, technically we met in East Blue Elementary but we didn't meet Sanji, Nami, and Usopp until Middle School. We met the rest in Grand Line," Zoro said.

"Okay well, what about your parents? What are they like?" I asked. 

"My parents died a long time ago," Zoro said, raising an eyebrow. I tried not to react to it like a fucking moron but the words slipped their way out of my mouth. 

"Really? Damn." I said, wanting to smash my head into the coffee table. Zoro raised his eyebrows and for a moment a saw a smile almost peak out from his mouth. 

"It's my turn now. How long have you been working at Baratie?" Zoro asked, glad to change the subject. 

"About a week," I said, still cringing at myself. 

"Okay, well I never knew my parents, I got adopted," Zoro said. "Has Sanji given you any shit?".

"Well, he tries to flirt with me every day but I usually just ignore him," I said, being as honest as I could be about the situation. In truth, Zeff did keep his promise to work my ass off, but every single one of the badass rouge chefs they have is teddy bears in my opinion. The smile ear to ear when they see me and are super nice to me. 

"Yeah, he can be like that. He's worse when you're a customer I hear," Zoro said as if it was a tragic truth.

"So where do you work?" I asked, trying not to think about my work.

"Oh, I work at my Dad's dojo," Zoro said, but I think he didn't want to think about his work too by how fast he changed the subject. "So tell me, what instruments can you play again?" I looked at Zoro in confusion, the change to this topic was kind of suspicious. 

"I play both bass and electric guitar. Why?" I asked. 

"Is that 'why' a question," he asked.

"Is that question a question," I asked and Zoro gave me a look. 

"But now I get four questions," he said.

"Fine," I said. Zoro sat sideways facing me and sank deeper into the couch's arm. He lowed his arms and relaxed his body. "Oh god, here we go," I thought to myself. The song changed to Franz Ferdinand.

"Who taught you to play the guitar?" He asked.

"Ace," I replied quickly.

"What was your mom like?" Zoro asked. The conversation took a 180. I sat there playing with the words he just asked. I was shocked that he would be so direct and that he would be interested at all. But what surprised me the most was why did the question still hurt? I sat there for a couple of minutes before I answered. It was just a question, and normally I would cut down anybody who would ask but that anger just wasn't there now. I didn't get it, Zoro was almost a stranger but somehow I felt like I could talk about anything to him. Maybe it was the whiskey. I shifted myself on the couch so I faced sideways and faced Zoro. Maybe I used to get so mad because I couldn't believe that she was gone, even almost ten years later.

"You know when Ace asked me that, I kicked him in the stomach?" I said and shook my head. "She was badass. I mean She was the badass of badasses.,The Queen of Badassery. They called her the "Red Wind" and she was in this huge all-female street gang until she met my Dad and got pregnant with me." Okay, Scarlet, you answered the question, you can stop talking now, I told myself. "Everyone tells me that I look exactly like her when she was my age." The words kept spilling out. "And, if I go in certain parts of the country, people will stop and say 'Kaze I thought you were dead,' and I have to tell them I'm her daughter and sometimes they would look like they were about to cry. She had that effect on everyone." I said. "She was also hated by a lot of people because she didn't take a lot of shit. She handled things right then and there and she could stop good or evil in their tracks." Scarlet, you said too much, I told myself. The words began to burn on my tongue now that they were already said. I looked at Zoro's facial expression and it was not what I expected. It was soft and something was different by the way he looked at me. I looked away quickly. Not a lot of people looked at me that way.

"I wish I knew my mom like that," Zoro said. My head snapped back to look at him. Oh my god, Scarlet stop thinking about yourself, he's got it way worse, I thought to myself. But the first thing my mind popped up came out of my mind. 

"Do you want to find out?" I asked. I cringed at the impulsivity of the question.

"I get to ask my question first," he said. This made me more nervous somehow.

"Then ask," I said calmly, faking my ease. Zoro sat there and stared at me for a while before finally just shaking his head. 

"No, I'll ask later," he said. I glared at him, how anticlimactic.

"Then come on let's go," I said and stood up from the couch. I went into my room and got a jacket. (I gave back Zoro his jacket ages ago). 

"What? Where are we going?" he asked, confused.

"One of two things. Either to get some food or find out who your parents are." I said.


	5. The Agency's Truck Stop Cravings

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After deciding that Zoro didn't want to know who his mother is or was, Scarlet and Zoro head to the city's best truck stop for greasy foods and conversations.

Zoro jumped to his feet.  
"What?! How?!" he asked.

"Oh, that shits easy. We just got to find the right files and do the right tests." I said. "Whose bike are we taking?". Zoro got his keys from the coffee table.

"Mine," he said. I shook my head.

"You just drank-what-a half a bottle of whiskey? I'm driving," I said. Zoro shook his head.

"That was nothing, hang on I have to pee, where is your bathroom?" he asked.

"In my room, the doors open, so you'll see it," I said. Zoro practically ran to the bathroom and could hear him pee before the door shut. I covered my ears even though the music was going just so I wouldn't have to hear because hearing people pee is weird. He came out of the bathroom flicking water off his hands. "At least he washed his hands," I thought to myself. 

"I don't think there's any whiskey left in me, so I'm driving. Besides you don't have your motorcycle license," he said. I rolled my eyes.

"Then teach me like you said you would!" I argued. I was a little scared that Zoro would actually try to drive drunk. I absolutely hated the very idea of people driving drunk. At first, I didn't care and I the last time I let someone drive drunk it ended horribly. I shook a little in memory. "And besides! I know where we're going whereas you would get us more lost than we would have started off with!" Zoro threw his head back groaning. Then looked up and gave me an irritated look.

"You're fucking stubborn, you know that right? Fine. Get your keys." He said. I turned off the stereo and headed outside my apartment while Zoro followed behind me.

"Well first, you need to know what hospital you were born at," I said as I locked the door. 

"I don't know that," He said. We begin to head down the first set of stairs.

"Does you're Dad know?" I asked. We were almost to the first set of stairs. 

"I don't know, I was adopted six months after I was born from some agency," he said.

"Wait, was this agency Baroque Works?" I asked. There was a moment of silence.

"Yeah I think so, why?" he asked. We were now approaching the seventh set of stairs. 

"I know just where to go," I said. We didn't speak until we reached that last set of stairs, and this time Zoro was only slightly winded.

"I fucking hate those stairs," he said as we approached my parked motorcycle. Zoro swung his leg around my motorcycle and sat down as he got out two motorcycle helmets and gave one to me while putting the other one on. I got on in front of him while putting my helmet on and waited for us to move, but we just sat there while I pulled out my phone.  
"Ah, Scarlet? Where is the agency?" Zoro asked.

"Go down highway 11 and take a left on Alabasta Street, then onto to Rain Base Drive," I said.

"Oh okay, I know where that is. What how did you know the address?" he asked.

"Oh, I just looked it up on Google," I said. I started the engine and listened for Zoro to say something. But he didn't. He just wrapped his arms around me and sat there, which was kind of weird for me, feeling his warmth spread across my back. I kicked off and headed down the road from my apartment village, then we came to a turn.

"You want to lean in a little toward the road when making turns like this. You're doing good." Zoro said. I learned in a little when I made the turn, and I did that on every turn we came across and eventually I began to pick up speed. I started to go faster and faster and Zoro would hold on tighter and tighter. Once I almost lost control and Zoro leaned in and controlled the bike's handles. Feeling his arms wrap around me stirred something within me I thought was long dead. It made my heart pound even harder and we pulled over, and we both agreed to go slower. He would even help me with stops by slamming his feet onto the concrete when needed. I only got one word of praise during the entire drive but I guess that's just how Zoro teaches- he only corrects you when you need it and let you learn yourself, from experience. It was refreshing from the way Ace taught, where it was like having a drill sergeant as a teacher. We finally reached our destination as the sky began to pink. I parked ( with the tiniest help from Zoro) in front of a pyramid building that had a sign that read "Bouquet Works" with an alligator holding a banana in its hand.

"This looks more like a casino than an adoption agency," Zoro said. His hands were still on my waist as we sat in the parking lot confused. Feeling the warmth from his hands produced made heat rise to my face.

"Well, never judge a book by its cover. Let's go." I said and I tore my body off the bike and out if Zoro's hands. He followed me into the building and headed straight for a dark wooden reception desk. The inside of the waiting room smelled like a hospital and had chairs surrounding a wall with magazines on coffee and end tables alike. The sight almost made me sick but I strode in there like I had business with the pope. There was a girl behind the counter that was about our age with aqua hair that was pulled back into a tight ponytail. She looked up at us and her eyes were a pretty brown.

"Vivi? You work here?" Zoro asked. The girl's eyes widened in surprise. 

"Zoro?! Scarlet?! What are you guys doing here? Robin stopped working here ages ago." Vivi said in confusion. It took me a minute to realize that Vivi Nefertiti was sitting before us. I knew close to nothing about her but one time Ace and I got roped into helping Luffy and his crew help her with something serious. I was honestly surprised she remembered who the hell I was.

"We're here regarding documents to adoption that was made," I said. Vivi sadly shook her head.

"I'm sorry but I'm afraid documents like that are highly classified. Whose adoption?" She asked, looking at both of us.

"Mine," Zoro said. Vivi's eyes widened again.

"I'm sorry but I'm going to need your legal guardian to accompany you otherwise I can't let you," Vivi said. I pulled out my ID and showed it to Vivi.

"If it's part of the rules than I can talk to the boss and get permission from him," I said. Ushio Ukama was in plain black letters next to my picture. I felt really bad about showing this to Vivi, and using the 'my dad is the boss of your boss's boss and then some' card but Zoro should know who his parents are. Vivi's eyes widened so much they looked like they were about to pop out of her head. She abruptly stood up.

"Follow me then." She said and led us down a long hallway.

-X-

Zoros pov:

We walked out of the building in silence. The sky was growing darker as the sun began to set, turning into a blend of light purples and pinks. We got on the bike without having to say anything and put on our helmets. I was almost hesitant at first, but I wrapped my arms around her as she was about to start the engine. It was different to wrap my arms around someone, much less a girl, and as soon as I touched her warmth sparked across hands all the way to my fingertips. It made my heart pound, honestly. However, before she could turn the key, my stomach let out a roar and Scarlet turned her head to me and gave me a quizzical look.

"Truckstop?" She asked. My heart skipped a beat. Sometimes you're so hungry that only a huge plate of greasy food was the only answer. 

"I know the perfect place," I said.

-X-

After a google search and a ten-minute ride, we pulled into the parking lot of Heaven's Gate Dinner. You could smell the coffee and grease before you came into the parking lot and was the perfect place for a hangover or just overall hunger.

"Never been here before," Scarlet said as she took off her helmet.

"It's an off-brand Waffle House," I explained as I pulled away from her and got off the bike. I watched her get up from the bike slowly and I felt stupid for just now seeing this, but Scarlet wasn't a stick. I never really looked at her but at that moment, she walked with such a laid back way but I know in her mind she was fully aware of her surroundings. I've seen that now that she's in the dojo. It's crazy how fast she goes from chill to kill. I tried not to stare as she pulled her legs forward and the muscles tightening and loosening. I've never seen her wear shorts but her legs were all muscles. It almost scared me, she was the very definition of a dangerous woman.

"Than load me up with a melt. I'm starving." She said and walked right past me. I snapped from my daze and followed her in. When we walked in, it smelled as it always did and was about as packed as usual with the four other people in booths. I waved at the waitress, Laki, as we sat down in a booth. She had long black hair and was wearing a south bird shirt and pants with fringe down the legs. She smiled and started to put together utensils for us to bring to our table. 

"The usual?" Laki asked as she came over to our table. The table already had menus out and Scarlet grazed over it.

"Yeah," I said. and glanced at Scalet. She looked at Scarlet too and raised her eyebrow.

"Hey, I know you. You helped my sister Aisa get out of rut down in Southside." Laki said, smiling.

"Aisa? Oh! Little girl with brown hair? She thought she could take out three thugs with a stick?" Scarlet said and chuckled.

"That would be her. Pick anything. You're in the house." Laki said.

"You sure? It was no big deal." Scarlet said.

"Nah. Believe me those guys weren't just looking for money. How about a sausage melt with cheese on Texas toast?" Laki suggested. Scarlet's eyebrow raised.

"Alright fine. Those guys probably would have done worse...." Scarlet said and trailed off. Laki turned around and yelled back our order to Pagaya who was at the grill. I leaned in closer to Scarlet.

"You saved her little sister?" I asked. Scarlet looked away and took a deep breath.

"It was years ago and couldn't let her get herself killed. Its the day I met Ace actually." She said. She drummed her fingers on the table as she looked out the window.

"How exactly did you meet him?" I asked.

"How come you didn't want to know who your parents were?" She asked. Bam. She asked for it. I thought she would leave it alone and she was probably going to but I guess a personal question needs to be paid with an equally personal question. I swear this woman could put some dealers to shame. Nothing is free with her. I sighed. Right as I opened my mouth Laki came with our plates and sat them down in front of us.

"Texas Toast Melt and The Usual," Laki said. As she sat Scarlet's plate down she smiled. "But really, thank you. Afterward, he came and apologized. Even bought her a meal." And with that Laki left. Scarlet glanced at her meal before looking out the window again.

"So is that your usual?" She asked and glanced at my plate before chucking. I looked down at the plate and shrugged. It was a mess on a pancake. Sausage, egg, cheese, hash browns, and bacon all topped with syrup. It was a monstrosity but I always loved every bite.

"Mine and mine alone," I said and began to chow down. After my third bite, Scarlet finally picked up her melt and began to eat it. She ate like a normal person which was weird to me because everyone I know has some weird quirk when it came to eating. Luffy ate tons and shoveled everything in his mouth along with every man I know. Nami and Robin rarely ate it seemed like and Scarlet just took the melt how it was. She didn't care that it was covered in grease or really bad for her. No, she just ate. 

-X-

When we left I offered to drive back but Scarlet wouldn't have it. Said it her bike so she drove. With my arms wrapped around her again, we passed the streets, I saw the sky become dark and deep purples and dark blues spread over the sky until stars began to poke out from the dark blanket of sky. I never really noticed the skyline until now because I was always the one with their eyes on the road rather than above, but it was a nice change. Scarlet pulled into the parking lot to her apartment building and we both got off. I stretched my legs a little bit before sitting down on my bike.

"Soooooooo..." I said and Scarlet looked at me and raised an eyebrow.

"So?" She inquired.

"Today was...nice," I said awkwardly. My hand rose to the back of my neck.

"Yeah, it was. Are you sure you don't want to find out who your parents are?" She asked. I nodded.

"I'm sure my dad would like to at least be there when I find out. Thank you though, for trying to help." I said.

"It's okay, it's ultimately your decision so I have no place to judge you." She said. I looked away for a bit taking in her words. I didn't know Scarlet could be this....calm. There was almost a sorrow in her words like something was keeping her down. After putting her neck out on the line for me I didn't want her to think I was ungrateful. So that's when the idea came into my head.

"Hey what are you doing on Halloween?" I asked.

"Ah, probably sit at home and watch scary movies, how come?" She asked. I grabbed my helmet and spun it with two hands.

"Well, Luffy and Usopp are having a huge party at Usopp's girlfriend's house. Want to come?" I asked. Scarlet tilted her head a little.

"Yeah sounds fun. Wheres the house?" she asked.

"Thriller Bark, I'll pick you up if you want, it's way out there. Stats at eight next week." I said.

"See you around then." She said and begun to walk away. Every step was slow and peaceful like a whisper. I watched her go and waited until her apartment light went on to leave. But before I did she came out on her balcony and yelled something.

"Just as friends right?" She yelled. She was leaning over and I was scared she was going to fall.

"Yeah! Of course! See you then?!" I yelled back.

"Yeah. See you then!" She called and went back inside with a shake of her head.


	6. Landing in an Oblivious Mess

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After asking Scarlet if she would like to go to a certain party, Zoro goes back home and has an unusual dream and forced to go back to school tired and confused.

Zoro:

When I got home, everything was quiet. I pulled into the driveway as silently as I could but the quite seemed to ruin my attempts. I parked and got off my bike and headed inside.

My house was about as normal as you could get. It's 1 and a half stories (the entire upstairs consisted of a bedroom and a bathroom)with three bedrooms, it was just me and my Dad living here. On the outside, a brown and red brick covered the walls with a black garage door and some flower beds a the front of the house. The front door had a long potch that wrapped around the porch, which lead to the large window you could crawl through and a black wooden bench swing with blue and green pillows. Once you opened the front door, you walked into the living room.

From quite that surrounded the place, I'd guess Dad had already gone to bed or was mediating in the rock garden. I walked through the living room and into the kitchen to look through the glass back door that looked into the backyard, and he wasn't anywhere to be seen. I headed upstairs to my bedroom and began to change clothes. I looked out the window that overlooked the backyard and got more of a clear view. There was a coy fish pound off to the side with a waterfall big enough to sit under next to the rock garden. When I was younger and got in trouble, my Dad would make me rake the garden as he sat on the long wooden deck that overlooked the backyard. That's where I typically meditated, under the waterfall. I crawled into bed, tired in every way possible. As soon as I lied down I started to feel the pull of sleep until it dragged me down into oblivion.

-X-

Bishop Briggs filled the air as I opened the door to Scarlet's room. She was laying in bed and was wrapped up in her sheets. Her brown hair sprawled out across a pillow and her face in complete peace.

"Scarlet? Come on you got to get up." I said. There was a slight movement in the bed and a groan. I walked over to the bed and pulled the covers off of her. She was wearing her PJs which consisted of a tank top and short track shorts. "Get up, you can skip school but not practice.". Scarlet slit open her eyes and her mouth slightly opened. She didn't even look at me completely when she grabbed my arm. She yanked it with enough strength to pull me down to the bed. She kept pulling until I was laying beside her. She pulled the covers us and wrapped her arms under mine and pulled again until her head was against my chest. I just lied there but subconsciously I wrapped my arms around her and brought her closer. And we just lied there. I felt her even breaths and her head digs into my chest more and she entangled herself with me. I almost wanted to chuckle at how tired she was, I lowered my hands to her waist and m fingertips caught a patch of skin. It was warm to the touch and I felt my heart beat start to pound. Then I began to notice how the room temperature began to rise ever so steadily. I ignored it at first but then I started to sweat. The air almost became boiling and it felt like over 100 degrees in the room. I looked behind me and Ace was standing there, angry, and his body was on fire. Almost like he was the fire.

"Zoro." He said. He voice was seething and it physically hurt to hear. Like nails on a chalkboard. "That's my girl you're in bed with." And with that, he roared causing flames to engulf me in an eruption.

-X-

I gasped awake my body hot and covered in sweat. It was almost hard to breathe as I sat up. My head started to pound against my skull and my heart was slamming against my chest. Why was it so fucking hot?! I threw off my shirt and it landed on the floor far from the bed. I was still breathing hard when my brain began to piece together the dream. Already it started to become fuzzy and I was beginning to forget bits and pieces. But my brain was screaming SHES ACE'S GIRL. SHE'S ACE'S GIRL. My heart finally started to calm down as I put my head in my hands until I could maintain a regular heartbeat. Then I went downstairs to get something to eat, to make any attempt to forget about my dream. My Dad was already at the table drinking hot tea when I came in. He was dressed in robes and his long black hair he kept in a ponytail and his glasses were on the table, folded neatly. His face was angular and came to a point, and he was also tall and thin whereas I was shorter and stocky. It wasn't hard to figure out I was adopted. I stumbled to the fridge to get milk.

"Zolo is everything alright?" Dad asked as I got a box of cereal out and milk from the fridge.

"Huh? Yeah." I said and poured the milk and cereal into a bowl. I heard my Dad gave out a hmm. He focused in on me and right as I shoved a spoonful of cereal in my mouth when he came to a conclusion.

"Its a girl isn't it?!" He asked a little happy. I spewed all the cereal out of my mouth. Milk and Frosted Flakes flying everywhere.

"WHAT?! NO!!!" I said., milk dripping from my mouth. He just shook his head.

"Oh, it definitely is." He said, fully convinced.

"I told you it's not!" I argued.

"Denial leads to a man's downfall, Zolo." He said. I slammed my head into the counter. "Than it's perhaps a boy, then? That blond curly eyebrow kid?". I'm not fucking kidding when I say I yelled.

"NOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!! NOT A GUY!!! DEFINITELY NOT A GUY!!" I yelled. Especially not that guy.

"I see. Well if it ever is, it's perfectly fine, Zolo." He said. My head felt like it was going to in circles and it was way too early for this shit. 

"Dad, can I just please go meditate or something?!" I asked. I really wanted to get out of the kitchen. Dad sipped at his tea and got up.

"Of course you can, as soon as you clean up your mess." He said and walked out into the backyard through the sliding glass door. I looked back at the mess I had made. It was all over the wall and counters.

"Fuck," I said.

-X-

Scarlet pov:

I met Zoro at his locker after class knowing exactly what was inside his locker. He opened the tall dark grey locker to reveal a whole stash of cooled energy drinks with many different flavors. There were so many, they neatly stacked on their sides all the way up to the second shelf.

"You doing okay?" I asked as he handed me a blue Monster. Blue and purple waves hung under his eyes, and his body wavered like an upper part of a ship's mast. His daze looked into nothing, starring into forever. I opened it and gave it back to Zoro, knowing he was running on limited brain function today. He started to chug it and I pulled a red Monster from his stash for myself. I cracked it open just as he took a breath.

"I feel like an elephant rode me like a bicycle," Zoro said with roughness in his voice. I laughed a little bit too hard thinking it sounded so dirty. 

"You have math next right?" I asked. Zoro nodded and started to finish up his Monster. "The roof should be clear right now for a nap if you want to take one, I'll cover you,". I started to chug my own Monster. Food and drinks were not allowed in the classrooms at all so everyone learned to open up their throats their freshman year in between classes. It was like the school was preparing us for raging alcoholism. Zoro gasped when he was done and looked at me with tired eyes and a weak smile.

"Nothing sounds better than that, thanks," Zoro said. He shut his locker and tossed his empty can into the nearest trash can, or at least tried to because it ended up hitting someone instead of the trash can. 

"WHO THE FUCK THREW THAT!?" echoed from metal shop top student, Kidd. Zoro groaned at the sound of Kidd's voice.

"I really don't want to deal with him right now," Zoro said as each word drained him. I saw the bright red hair turn in our direction and his eyes make contact with mine.

"Well, he's coming over the way," I commented and leaned against the grey locker next to Zoro's.

"Ukama!" Kidd shouted and advanced up to me, ignoring Zoro completely and passing him. 

"Watch it, shit stain, I'm not in the mood," I growled. Kidd only got closer and stood over me, looking down. I could smell the metallic scent that traveled with him. 

"If you wanted my attention all you had to do was ask, not throw something at me. Then again you've never been one to admit things," Kidd said, licking his lips. Kidd leaned in closer but I knew he was just baiting me, I opened my mouth to reply but Zoro beat me to the punch, scaring the living shit out of me. He slammed his locker as hard as he could and glared at Kidd with his tired eyes. Kidd chose to still have his metal shop goggles on today and adorned a red button-up shirt and black jeans. Fur stuck out his grey coat that draped over his shoulders. 

"I fucking threw it, asshole. Leave her out of it," Zoro seethed, keeping his voice down so only we could hear him. Kidd smiled and laughed.

"Oh, so now you're fucking him? A step down from Ace but you always liked them strong, huh, Ushio?" Kidd said and looked at me, still smiling. I grabbed him by the shoulder and slipped my hand behind his neck and drew him closer to me, where my fist made contact with his stomach. He started coughing and I tightened my grip on his neck. 

"If you think you know anything about me, then you would know to watch your fucking mouth, Kidd," I whispered into his ear. I shoved him off of me and widened my stance, then gave Zoro my backpack. Zoro took it without hesitation but grabbed my wrist before I advanced.

"Remember, you're in dojo now, I won't stop you but the roof always has room for one more," Zoro said tiredly. The feeling of his hands made everything feel warm from his body heat, I looked back to him and his face was stern and confident.

"You BITCH!" Kidd screamed and there wasn't any denial that the teachers heard us. Zoro acted quickly and pulled me away before we could be connected to Kidd's rampage. We ran into the crowd and ducked a little so we could blend in and made our way to the main janitor's closet where the staircase to the roof could be found. The room was big smelled deeply of chemicals and a spiral staircase made of metal was placed in the back of the room. Zoro still hadn't let go and pulled me up the steps with him, opening the metal door and letting the sun breath into our lungs. The roof of the main building overlooked the entire campus and you could even see some of the city standing from up here. We looped around behind the wall of the door and sat down on the warm cement. Zoro let go of my hand once we sat down and looked up at the sun, then leaned his head against the wall. 

"I didn't know you knew Kidd like that," Zoro said and turned his attention back to me. I sighed and leaned against the wall and stretched my legs out in my ripped up jeans.

"We went out freshman year, he still thinks that I like him and only left me alone when I started hanging out with Ace," I explained. 

"Kidd is your ex?!" Zoro looked at me like that comment made him wake up. 

"Yeah, I had a really bad phase with bad people, Kidd was the last one though, after him, I woke up a little," I explained. 

"You think? He just claimed that you were fucking me as well as having trouble admitting things, which are both wrong," Zoro said and his face grew a little red. 

"Either way, now that he knows Ace is gone, he might become a problem, again." I groaned. I looked up at the bright blue sky trying to think of ways to counteract Kidd, going deeper and deeper into my mind. 

"Hey, Scarlet?" Zoro said, snapping me out of thought.

"Yeah, what's up?" I said, looking up at him. The bags were still under his eyes but his checks were growling red. 

"If you don't mind me asking, why did you start dating Kidd?" Zoro asked looking at the ground.

"Well, we met in middle school, where a lot of people knew me as Ushio, and at first I couldn't stand the sight of him. I hated him for years until I got the apartment. Then suddenly he didn't seem so bad to me and we ended up having the same homeroom freshman year. We started to hang out even out of school more, and eventually, he began to change. He was gentle but only with me, he got super jealous even if I was around other guys that weren't scared of him. He only trusted those who were scared of him to be around me. To me, I thought that's what guys did when they really loved their girlfriends, but that wasn't the case with Kidd. I spent six months with him before I cut ties with him. He had isolated me and made me feel so alone, I had to physically fight him to get him off my back. He bothered me until I met Ace three months later." I explained. 

"Well, that just shows how much you've grown. I mean you know Kidd for what he is, and if he gives you trouble, now you have the dojo team to push him off," Zoro said and looked at me with kind eyes, despite the bags that hung under them. I smiled and pushed him down on the ground, his back laying on the concrete.

"I think you were supposed to nap up here, moss head.".


	7. Awkward Talks and Irritated Speeches

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After revealing her previous relationship with Kidd and that she and Ace were just friends to Zoro, Scarlet comes home to Ace being on her couch and the two break out into an argument.

Scarlet Pov, hours before:

After lunch, I noticed how Zoro started acting weird. I didn't think much of it at first but when we were at practice today, I knew for sure something was off. Zoro could not focus and Mihawk was ruthless with him because he couldn't, and it made things worse on Zoro because he was the captain. Mihawk was always harder on him than any other dojo member. But normally his performance issues didn't call for me to be dragged into them. Today was different, Zoro was doing so bad, Mihawk got on my ass for not catching him.

The team worked in a system of safety nets. Each person had someone that they had to cover. But for the Captain, he had to be the safety net to everyone. When everyone fails, it's up to him to pick up the slack and keeps up going. But there's the issue of who has the captain's back. That's where the vice-captain comes in, which was a position that obtained no long ago, I am still supposed to come up behind Zoro and have his back. He may be everyone's safety net, but I was his. Which brought on the issue today. I had to pick up the slack for Zoro and I led practice while Zoro got his ass chewed, right after I did of course. So I did what any vice-captain or real friend would do.

I changed clothes as fast as I could and ran to Zoro's bike before he could. When he came out of the dojo building, he had his head down and an irritated look in his face. He was back in his old clothes and he carried his helmet with one hand behind him over his shoulder.

"Hey," I said as he came closer to his bike. Zoro froze and looked up at me. He quickly looked away but kept walking towards his bike.

"Hey," he said and pulled out his keys from his pocket.

"Something up? The practice was more brutal than usual." I said. Zoro finally reached the bike and got on without a word. I kept looking at him as he threw back his head and took a deep breath. He closed his eyes then opened them again to look at me.

"I want to ask my question now. From the other day." I blinked and my face gave a confused expression. The other day, the other day... I thought of, to try to trace the memory. After a moment of thought, my face lit up in recognition. Oh yeah, that question he left open on Sunday. 

"Okay," I said. "What is it?". Zoro rolled his neck around like he was trying to come up with the right words. There was honking in the distance as the last of the dojo students began to leave.

"What exactly was between...you...and ah...Ace, Luffy's brother?" Zoro asked. I was taken back by the question but I don't see why Zoro was so awkward about it.

"Funny question but I suppose everyone wants to know," I said and looked away for a moment. I looked at the tree line in the distance and if you stood on your toes you could see above them and see the tops of the city's buildings in the distance. I already told him what happened between me and Kidd, who actually hadn't shown his face to me since, how hard could it be to explain Ace? "We were just really close friends, that's all. And no, we did not date. A lot of people seem to assume that, but we didn't, it's just a bunch of rumors,". Zoro looked up at me and nodded, then looked away again.

"I never planned to. I just wanted to hear it from you so I know the truth," he said.

"Is that's what been bothering you today?!" I asked and leaned closer to him. "A simple rumor that has nothing to do with you?" Zoro's eyes widened, they no longer had the deep bags underneath them. 

"What?! No! No that's not it," he said and straightened his back up a little and coughed a little.

"Than what is it?" I asked. Zoro shook his head and put on his helmet.

"It's nothing," I heard through the helmet and he lifted up the kickstand.

"Okay, then tomorrow you better come back better and stronger. Mihawk is on both of our asses now." I said. Zoro sighed.

"Yeah, I should be good." He told me and leaned more into his bike for better control. 

"Okay then go home and get some rest then," I said. I turned around with one-foot spin and walked with my arms behind my back to my bike, a couple of parking spaces down.

"You drove?" Zoro asked. "Without your license?"

"Yeah, so what? It's considered a practice." I claimed and turned my head slightly to see him shake his head.

"Whatever. I'm not inclined to tell you what you can and can not do," he said started up his motorcycle.

"See you around then," I said and got on my bike.

-X-

I was at least to say, exhausted. But I started work at seven and got off at midnight, so I headed home and made a list of things I was going to do as soon as I got off work. Jumping into my bed and shutting out the world was at the top and the only thing on my list so far. But when I got home, it wasn't empty. Ace was asleep shirtless on my couch snoring away. I could see his feet poke out from the side of the couch and I came over there and dropped my backpack on his stomach. He yelped and woke up immediately as the backpack slammed into his abdomen. 

"What the hell?" he asked and pushed the bag off him and onto the floor. It landed with a loud thud. I smirked because I knew it had textbooks in it.

"Don't fall on my couch shirtless as you live here," I said as I made my way into the kitchen. I grabbed the first thing, which was a beer. I knew Ace was rolling his eyes but he got up off the couch.

"Okay fine," he said and found his black shirt on the coffee table. I turned around and he was working the shirt back on, unrolling the fabric down his torso.

"What do you want?" I asked and made my way to the bedroom. "Make it quick, I have to leave for work in a couple of minutes," I said.

"You work?" Ace asked. "Where?" he followed me into the room. I sat the beer down after drinking a couple of sips from it on my computer table before entering my closet.

"I'm a waitress over at the Baratie," I shouted from the inside of my closet. I grabbed my work uniform and started to put it on. My uniform was a suit meant for a male but I was able to get it altered thanks to Robin. It was black and white and instead of a jacket, I wore a black vest with a white undershirt with the sleeves rolled up at the elbows. I didn't even bother wearing the tie because the shirt was the only thing that I couldn't alter since it was supplied by the company, and because of that chest area nearly suffocated enough as it, Zeff gave me permission to not a wear the tie. I came out of the closet and Ace was drinking the beer I left on my computer desk. As I was buttoning up my shirt I looked up and we made eye contact. I barely got the last button on when Ace dropped the beer and it spilled all over the floor.

"Oh my god you're the hot new waitress the guys won't stop talking about," he said in a dazed shock.

"Dude what the hell?! You spilled beer all over the floor!!" I yelled. Ace snapped out of it and looked at the floor and his hand went to his head brushing away hair as he grabbed the top of his head.

"Ah, shit! Sorry, Scar," he said and looked back at me. "I'll clean this up,". I sighed and Ace went into the kitchen for cleaning supplies. I looked around my room for my keys and phone from my jacket.

" Anyways," I said once he came back into the room. "What are you here for?" I asked when he crouched down on the floor and started to clean up the beer.

"What, I can't drop by and say hi?" he asked. I raised my eyebrow and pulled my phone from my jacket. 

"You came here all the way from New World to say hi?" I asked suspiciously.

"Yeah, what can I not do that?" he asked. I shook my head and chuckled and pulled my keys out too. 

"You can but I'm calling bullshit. What is it? Need to stash someone for a night?" I asked. Ace shook his head as he soaked up the last of the beer.

"No, we have places for that. It's about Luffy and his crew. I heard you got dragged into their shenanigans again," Ace said. 

"Yeah, what of it?" I asked with a little bit of attitude and squatted next to him. He finished cleaning up and sat down on my floor, reaching for my hand to pull me next to him. I obliged knowing Ace wanted to talk about was serious. 

"Hey, cut the attitude. I'm here to give you some advice. I know you're in a hurry so I'll make it quick." he emphasized and took a deep breath before leaning in closer to me and making eye contact. I could smell the ocean breeze scent in his hair and the warmth of bourbon off of him, he was on inches away, his whiskey-colored eyes pleading to be listened to. "But I don't think you should get too close. I know their nice and caring people but it's the people they attract," I began to slowly shake my head and back away. I couldn't believe what I was hearing. "More importantly, I've been hearing nasty rumors that you're hanging around this Zoro guy and sleeping with, and now that Kidd is back?" He came closer to me and tried to grab my forearm but I slapped his hand away.

"I get that you're worried about but you have absolutely no jurisdiction to come into my home and order me around like I'm one of your thugs. You should know better than to trust those rumors, not that I should have to explain anything to you. So, excuse me for BEING BEYOND PISSED WITH YOU THINKING IT'S OK TO TREAT ME LIKE I DON'T KNOW ANYTHING!" I yelled at him. "I'm still trying to believe you came here from all the way from New fucking World to order me around!".

"I'm not trying to order you around! Just strongly suggest. Scarlet, I just don't want to see you get hurt!" Ace said. I felt like my head was splitting with anger and my first instinct was to punch him like Kidd, but I couldn't. Even though Ace wasn't Kidd, for a split second I thought Ace was Kidd. "I'm just trying to protect you, Ushio," a faint whisper slithered into my consciousness. 

"NO! You know what? NO! I am not one your whitebeard thugs nor will I ever be! So don't you dare come here thinking you can tell me how to live my life? Thank you Ace D. Portgus, but I'm fine on my own! I've always been, even before you!" I said. Ace just stood there, eyes wide and his black hair all ruffled, silent. "Finish cleaning up the mess and get out.! Lock the door when you leave.". I walked around him with my things. I went down every set of stairs to the bottom and did not look back once.

No one can control, hurt, or manipulate you if you're on your own.


	8. This is What a Bad Idea Looks Like

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Scarlet ends up going to the Halloween party alone and finds out about Ace's true feelings.

When Haloween finally came around, I was actually pretty excited for Luffy and Usopp's party. It was nice that I was actually doing something rather than sitting at home watching scary movies until I eventually fell asleep. The only issue that I ran into was what exactly I was going to wear. I had never been one for costumes so I was really out of my element here. In an offhand comment, I went to Robin and confined in her for some advice on what I can do. 

"Its a masquerade, and a masked pirate or bounty hunter seems up your ally," She had said. Her answer seemed good to me and with it, I shopped around for anything remotely closed to that and ended up finding it in the very bottom of my mom's chest.

My mom before she died, had an old wooden chest made in Australasia. It was essentially her memory box and everything in it went directly to me. I was able to sneak it out before I moved out of my Dad's house and I've kept it at the back of my closet covered in clothes I never bother to put up.

And what I found in there was exactly what I needed. It was a red female pirate captain costume, equipped with everything a captain could ask for. It was a long dress that slit at the side revealing my right leg and the thigh holsters. The skirt ruffled and the way it curved down was in a side motion. It had an off the shoulder top and corset that pulled together with black straps and had sleeves that were cringed together at the top and flowed past my forearms. The hat was beautiful and black that had a large red feather coming out of it with crossbones printed on the top, it reminded me of a French captain hat. I walked in front of my mirror and chuckled, thinking how much I looked like a Pirate Queen. One thing about my mother that no one really knew was that she practiced the sword and even had one custom made for her in Japan. It was a black sword with a gold tip and the handle was wrapped in red ribbon. I was surprised that it had a black sheath because her colors were always red and white. Personally, I always liked black better with red but that was just my opinion. I was able to come across a mask in one of those Halloween stores and it matched the costume pretty well. I curled my hair and wore some black boots. I brought the sword with me because, well I really just wanted to. I wasn't an expert at the sword but I was in dojo and I knew how to use one.

I arrived at the party alone despite Zoro's invention. I felt I would get more lost if I was with him rather than by myself. I rode my motorcycle, the skirt flapping in the wind behind me and my hat tucked away while I wore my helmet. I followed Usopp's directions all the way to a castle looking house in the distance and parked my bike at the foot of the driveway. The house was the biggest house I had ever seen, four or five stories and it was like I walked upon a castle. And all of it was decorated, every single inch. It felt haunted and there was already around 300 people there. I walked up to the grand steps and through the double doors and lights and music were playing. There were servers milling through the crowd of people dancing in the lobby to the music dressed as zombies with trays of food and drink. The whole thing took my breath away. I found a lone pair of stairs after pushing through people and trying to find someone I knew, but I couldn't recognize anybody. I climbed the stairs to the room I believe to be on the second floor where there was a bar and table and chairs set off in a corner. I walked up the bar and took a seat at one of the stools, and eventually, a young bartender dressed a patched up zombie with short blonde hair came over to me. Her name tag read 'Cindry'.

"Can I get you anything?" she asked, politely. I ran through the list in my head of different kinds of cocktails and drinks and tried to decide on what I wanted. 

"Blue Shark," I said and reached for my fake ID but she never asked for it and left before I could even pull it out all the way. She came back smiling after a few minutes with a Blue Shark in the proper glass in hand. "Wow, that was fast! Thanks," I told her.

"No problem, although not a lot of people know what a Blue Shark is around here. I was pretty surprised when you ordered one," Cindry replied and relaxed her elbows on the counter. 

"I've been behind the bar a couple of times," I said and stirred my drink with the straw, the blue liquid obeying the swirling motion. 

"What company?" Cindry asked giving me a smirk, and I gave her one back. There were companies in the city who would hire under-age bartenders and teach them how to make drinks and pay them under the table in cash. It was a hard business, but it was a job. A job that I worked for a couple of months, and a job that lead me to the day that I met Ace. 

"Gekko's then Capone's" I whispered. Cindry gave me a big smile.

"I work with Capone's now, used to work with Gekko too," Cindry admitted. 

"Got touchy?" I asked and Cindry widened her eyes and nodded.

"Yeah, that's why I left too," I told her and she chuckled. At the other side of the bar, people sat down and Cindry looked at me.

"Duty calls, good to know there's another bar girl here," Cindry said and left with a towel in hand. 

"Hey Scarlet!" a voice said behind me called. I turned around and it was Luffy, in a full suit of armor. "Glad you could make it!" he sat right beside me and took off his helmet and set it on the bar. "Figured I would find you here. You have no idea how hard it is to get an open bar to cooperate with us?" I held out my glass to him and took a drink then set it back down and began to stir it around with the straw again.

"I can see the obstacles that would come with that," I said. "Ace here?" I inquired raising an eyebrow. Luffy looked around a sighed.

"He's not coming. I invited him but he said he couldn't make it." Luffy confessed, and looking a bit disappointed in it.

"What? Why?" I asked. Luffy paused for a moment and bit his lip at its edge. 

"You want the truth?" he asked. His face looked painful but honest. That's what I liked most about Luffy, he was honest as he was dumb. 

"Yeah, that would be nice for once," I said and took another drink of blue shark. Luffy took a deep sigh and took my drink from my hand. He drank it out of the glass, holding the straw so it wouldn't fall out carefully and gave it back to me, half of it gone. 

"It's because he knew you would be here," he said and looked me in the eyes. I took a long drink. "After you guys had that fight he came over to my place drunk and told me all about it."

"Really, it was just me being upset with him, he barely argued," I explained and I looked away from Luffy. The light was bouncing off his suit of armor and it started to hurt to look at him. Luffy positioned himself better and nudged my shoulder. I looked at him in his bright brown eyes and he chuckled. I smiled and looked back at my drink as I sat it back down on the bar, then started to sip out of it. 

"God, then he's still nuts over you," Luffy said, shaking his head. My neck nearly snapped I looked back at Luffy so fast. I was coughing on my drink as it burned down my throat.

"WHAT?!" I wheezed. I slammed my hand on my heart trying to get out a good breath. 

"Even after you guys broke up-" Luffy started to say and I started to cough more. My heart and lungs started to hurt and tighten, it became hard to breath.

"We never broke up!" I sputtered out. Luffy looked back at me with a confused face. "I mean-" I started coughing. "We never even together." I was able to get out. I finished coughing finally as Luffy gave me a sad look that I rarely saw that on him.

"He lived with you though. Usopp told me when two adults move in together they're together." Luffy said. I groaned and remembered how naive Luffy was. 

"No! That's not always the case! I'm not even technically an adult Luffy, and Ace wasn't when he moved in, or at least mentally." I explained. "Anyways I let him move in because he was paying for both you and his tuition out of pocket. He was good and I was honestly going to let you move in too but you moved in with Usopp! Luffy, we were never together!".

"So you never loved my brother?" Luffy asked bluntly. My mind started screaming and I looked back at my drink like it was holy. I grabbed it and tossed the straw and drank the rest of it in one gulp, letting it burn down my throat. I slammed the glass down and raised my hand as if to defend my argument. 

"It's not like that-" I started to say but he cut me off.

"Because he's loved you all this time," Luffy said. I was mentally screaming even harder and his words hit me in the heart and in the mind. I felt my chest tighten and my throat knot up. I looked at Luffy with wide eyes. My entire body felt on fire and my stomach was twisted in knots. But like every bad idea, I ordered another drink. Luffy was calm enough to let Cindry come back and give me a refill. She looked at me almost cringing, and I knew she had eavesdropped. She left quickly and I took a deep breath and drank half of it. 

"There was a time, yes," I admitted. "But considering how things went and the distance between us, you know long distance never works out." Luffy was silent after that and we sat there in silence. Is that really what I told him or just what I've been telling myself? But just as he opened his mouth a voice spoke behind us.

"Scarlet?" Luffy and I both turned around a little surprised and it was Zoro. He had on a dark green bandanna and a green samurai robe. At his waist, there were three katakanas, each one a different color, white, black, and red. A large part of his chest was exposed through the robes and his chest came out so far they almost looked like boobs. He might get the buffest person here award. Luffy looked at me and nodded and put back on his knight helmet.

"Well, see yah two! Got a party to run! Good seeing you, man." Luffy said and got up and patted Zoro's shoulder. Zoro just stood there and we watch Luffy leave down the staircase. He looked back at me and shrugged and came over to me. He sat down next to me, taking Luffy's spot, and looked at my almost empty glass.

"Blue Shark?" he asked.

"Yeah, not a huge fan, but at least I'm trying to have a good time," I said. Zoro smirked and my heart knotted again and I turned back to my drink, which I drank the rest of. 

"Can we get two scotches?" he asked Cindry, which she was all too happy to give. She gave me a wink when she left. I was still shocked at what Luffy had said about Ace and his feelings towards me. I was still trying to process it and I never knew he had a thing for me, but I never tried to pursue my feelings for him, instead, I try to let them die. I took a drink of the scotch and Zoro did the same with his. I didn't feel like doing a lot of talking and I felt so torn sitting there. How long did he feel this way? How come he didn't tell me? Did I still have feelings for Ace? My chest felt like it was caving into itself and my heart was the crater. I was so confused, every thought I had would just double up with another, it was the only thing I could think about.

"Hey Scarlet, you okay?" Zoro asked and nudged my arm. I clicked back into reality and I remembered that it was me and Zoro at the bar.

"What? Ah, yeah. I'm fine." I stumbled out. Zoro raised an eyebrow. His green eyes gave off a different shade in the lighting of the room, making them almost warmer. 

"Okay, then have a drinking contest with me," he said. I didn't even hesitate.

"Lets fucking go," I said seriously. Zoro laughed, even his laugh sounded warmer.

"I thought you would be up to it. Can we start off with some vodka?" he asked the bartender. Cindry started us off with a line of four shots of vodka each. As soon as she said go I tore through them. Vodka was my favorite because of how much it burned down my throat. I finished mine just before Zoro.

"HA!" I laughed into his face and he just smiled. 

"Damnit! Okay, now let's try a whiskey," he said and this time we got three shots each. Of course, he finished this round before me. But my head was in a different state, and I wanted more.

"Tequila," I said. I busted out the big guns. Cindry informed us after this she wasn't allowed to serve us anymore and considered how fogged my head is, we had no choice but to consent. She laid out two shots for us each and said go. I threw back the first and on the second I was literally a second behind Zoro. Zoro let out a victory cry and I started to laugh. I stood up and my legs became numb an entire field of vision swirled and I went down. I would have kissed the ground if Zoro hadn't caught me, which made him smirk. He had wrapped one arm around my waist and pulled me back to the standing earth.

"Okay fine, yah won. No need tah rub it in." I slurred and pulled away from him. I could feel his arm held loosely around my waist but I stood back and his arm dropped.

"So a pirate captain? Looks nice," Zoro said slurring a little while smiling and I could smell the whiskey on his breath.

"Says the samurai, wish I thought of that," I admitted. My head still felt numb but my face couldn't stop smiling.

"Nah, I think you did well with what you got on," Zoro said and I don't know if it was the alcohol but heat rose to my face.

"I'm hungry!" I declared and started to walk towards the staircase, trying to ignore whatever attention he was giving me. Zoro followed behind stumbling as we bumped into people and moving through.

"Yeah, I could use some grub too," he said and he walked behind me closely with his arms outreached, ready to grab me at a moment's notice, the entire way downstairs, where, the party was in full swing. Neon lights were strobing, fog machines sent ribbons of fog into the air and a DJ at the top of the grand staircase creating a bass that shook the floor. There was a full on rave below us and we didn't even know.

"ZORO! SCARLET!" a voice called through the crowd. I found the area it came from and it was Chopper. He was sitting with Robin and Franky. He was waving frantically calling us over in a full buck costume. Zoro grabbed my arm and pulled me towards them behind him. There were couches against the wall they were sitting at and we took a seat next to Franky, who was sitting next to Robin, drinking a large bottle of cola flavored vodka. He was dressed as a cyborg military officer. Even had a blue buzz cut and face piece that gave him a glowing red eye. I don't know where he got the military uniform (he cut off the sleeves for some reason) but he looked pretty cool in my opinion. Robin was a witch, complete with a hat and in a short black dress. She had on a masquerade mask that was black and purple and was currently wiring around a glass of dark red wine. Chopper sat next to Zoro and started to shovel food in his mouth. We had to sit pretty close to each other because there were other people on the other side of the couch. Robin sat at the end and Franky was swinging his bottle next to me. Zoro was sitting next to me and Chopper sat on the arm of the couch eating something. Everyone was so bunched up that there was barely any space between each person. But Zoro somehow found a way to lean back into the couch outstretch his arm on the top of the couch.

"Nice costumes you two!" Robin said as lights flashed across her eyes.

"Thanks, you look good too," I yelled back at her.

"Where did you end up finding yours, Red? Looks like you paid a pretty penny for it." Franky said.

"Oh, it was my mom's," I answered. Chopper stopped eating and stared at me.

"You're mom wore that?!" Chopper asked.

"Yeah, in a way she gave it to me?" I said.

"I would never have been able to leave the house in something like that. My grandmother would have killed me." Franky said and took a drink out of his bottle.

"Unfortunately, she wasn't able to express her opinion when I left my place," I explained.

"Was she at a party of her own when you left your house?" Chopper asked before licking the icing off of a cupcake.

"Ah no, she died a long time ago. I live on my own," I explained. All of them went quite, creating an awkward silence.

"Hey, do you know where the others are?" Zoro blurted out in an attempt to break the silence and get the topic off of me. Chopper piped up immediately.

"Brook and Sanji are dancing in the crowd," Chopper said scanning the crowd of people.

"Who is intoxicated of course. Nami is with Luffy, and I believe and the location of Usopp is unknown to us," Robin said.

"Have you seen anyone else?" Franky asked.

"Not really, just Luffy. What about you guys?" Zoro asked.

"Pretty much the entire school is here than some," Robin said. "But it's all hard to tell with so many people wearing masks."

"Than we should go get food while it's still there," Zoro said as he stood up. "I'm guessing you guys know where we can find the food tables?".

"Yeah, another side of the dance floor. Practically the entire wall is nothing but food," Chopper said.

"Alright then, Scarlets lets get going. I'm hungry too now," Zoro said. I got up from the couch and we started to walk away from the couches. After shoving people and being shoved, we reached the edge of the dance floor. The crowd of dancing people was four hundred strong it looked like. Zoro grabbed my forearm firmly.

"Let's try not to get trampled on and lost okay?" he said. I looked up at him and he was smirking. I looked the dense crowd before us and I thought to myself how almost pointless it was going to be crossing this but at that moment I thought of Zoro as a rope. A lifeline. I wouldn't lose him and he wouldn't lose me if we just held on to each other. I wrapped my hand around his forearm and looked back up at him, and nodded. It was going to take quick and agile movements and I knew I had that. I wasn't going to give up on the food. I was too fucking hungry and determined to give up now.

When we plunged into the crowd we were immediately hit with someone trying to break dance. Zoro was able to keep us steady as I steered our direction out of the way. Luckily, we didn't hit the ground and kept on moving. With the screaming bodies clogging our view and movement, things got super hot and I nearly tripped over every little thing but Zoro kept me steady. When he nearly crashed into someone, I was there to turn him the other way. Which caused us to be pushed around and almost trampled on, but I sort of liked it. It was fun. The lights were flashing and I could feel the bass in my heart and below my feet, and the music was good. The alcohol seemed to finally reach my brain and I felt so light. I held on the Zoro more and more, I felt as if I let go, I would be letting go a part of me. I started to laugh and realize how I never really did this with really anyone else. I never relied on Ace as much as I was on Zoro at this moment. It felt so uplifting to finally let someone guide me and I knew if I just held on to Zoro's arm, everything would work out in the end, and we would eat to our heart's content.

"Fucking finally," Zoro said as we broke through the crowd at last. We pulled each other out of the crowd and just as we were told, we saw food tables line the entire wall. It was glorious, there were chocolate fountains, punches of different kinds sat in bowls ready to drink. Sweets and party snacks filled every table and it was like walking into Valhalla itself. It was a feast. Zoro whistled.

"Got to give them, Luffy and Usopp know how to throw a party," Zoro said.

"Yeah," I chuckled in aw. "You can say that,".


	9. Burning Lies to Ourselves

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ace confronts Scarlet about his feelings.

Ace's Pov: an hour earlier

"Hey," said a voice. I looked up and it was Marco, he was holding two beers and outreached one to me. I look it without a thought and opened it up while Marco sat down next to me on the sand.

"Hey," I said slowly, and a little late.

"You okay, man?" Marco asked and I shrugged, then took a long drink from my beer. We were at a bonfire an hour or so from the University on a beach. The rest of the Whitebeards were here along with some girls from the university some of the members brought along. Marco nor I hadn't brought any girls with us because Marco wasn't interested in anybody, and I, was planning on bringing Scarlet before she lashed out at me so she went to Luffy's party. Marco gave a huge sigh."It's Scarlet or whatever isn't it?". I groaned and fell back into the sand. I rose my beer to my lips and tried to drink some while laying down. Marco was right, it was Scarlet. It was always her. Her smile, her laugh, her sarcasm, her whit, god even her scowl. Scarlet was so beautiful but at the same time so god damn terrifying and powerful. She was the strong independent woman and this girl doesn't even realize it. Scarlet has no idea just how amazing she is. I didn't want to admit this to Marco, but from the look, he gave me as he shook his head told me he already knew. "You've known her for fucking ever, Ace. Jesus shit, you LIVED with her just a couple months ago and you were living there for a year and some odd months! And not once did you make a move on her. Make up your mind, dude.". Words of wisdom really. But I couldn't get my mind off of our fight Monday. She had every right to lash out at me knowing her past but I was also only trying to help. But of course, she wasn't someone you could control or so easily able to convince of something unless you had backing. I didn't even tell her what I originally wanted to tell her.

Seven Nation Army by The White Stripes started to play from my phone and it was vibrating wildly. Someone was calling me. I dug my phone out of my pocket and answered before seeing who it was.

"Hello?" I said, curious.

"Are you moping around watching something burn? It was Luffy and I could barely hear him with music playing in the background.

"No," I lied and sat up. Marco raised an eyebrow at me and I took another drink of beer.

"Anyways," Luffy said." I got some news for you,".

"And it would be?" I asked, suspicious as to what it was.

"I just got done talking with Scarlet, she was about finished with her second Blue Shark when she said this-you know how she is- but bro, you missed your chance," Luffy said.

"What the hell are you talking about?" I asked.

"I'm talking about you and Scarlet. I know you're still nuts about her so I'm telling if you don't come to this party tonight, you missed your chance with her completely. She's moving on and I have a feeling she's caught my first mate's eye and he gets protective. It's now or never, bro." Luffy explained. I jumped up on my feet quickly, sending sand everywhere, including Marco.

"Wait, are you saying that she said that-" I began to say but he cut me off.

"There was a time I loved him but I'm afraid long distance never works out," Luffy said, intimidating Scarlet's voice. I looked at Marco, who was trying to get sand out of his mouth but looked up at me. He nodded and got up.

"I'm on my way," I said and ran to Marco's truck.

-X-

Scarlet Pov: current time

My entire world seems to shift, and freeze. Music became background noise and the flashing lights seemed to dull.

"Scarlet," Ace said. He was standing there, right in front of me. For some reason, without a shirt and his face was flushed. My name seemed to send everything into a silent halt and I stumbled back a little. I bumped into Zoro, who was turned around eating a cookie and drinking spiked punch.

"Hey what-" Zoro began to say as he turned but his sentence stopped when he saw Ace. I looked up at Zoro and we made eye contact. Zoro looked back at Ace and then back to me. He nodded and turned to go. I faced Ace.

"What do you want?" I asked, staring him straight in the eye. He approached me with hands held out.

"I'm not here to order you around, let me just say I'm sorry Scarlet. I am so sorry for everything. I left you with almost no one but my little brother and you became so involved with them, I got scared okay? I got scared that you would forget about me and our promise," Ace said, drawing closer and closer to me. But I held my ground.

"Scarlet, I-" Ace began to say but I cut him off.

"No," I said gritting my teeth. "Don't you dare finish that sentence.".

"But-" he stammered.

"NO! God dammit Ace, why now?! Huh?! Why now?! How come you tell me all of this just as I'm moving on?! We've known each other for two and a half years and we even lived with each other! SO WHY NOW?!" I said and stumbled backward. I held on to myself and looked away from him. I was so angry but Ace just stood there, frozen, stunned. "You left. I don't blame you for leaving, but Ace, the day you walked out that door with the couch, was the day I began to realize what all was out there. My world expanded so much and I had no obligation to you anymore. I owed you my life so I gave it to you. Now, that's all over. Yes, there was a time I did have feelings for you and I still do a little but that doesn't change the fact that you are so far away. And I just can't anymore. I'm not going to fall for a guy who only sees me when he feels threatened! So why don't you just let me go?!" I said. I looked up at him in the eyes and all I saw was his brown eyes go from sorrow to determined. He was already close to me but he filled in the gap pretty quickly and did something I never thought he would do. Ace grabbed my face and closed his lips around mine. It was a hot and sloppy kiss that demanded all my senses. My brain felt fried, the only thing I could feel was the softness of his lips and the hot breath he drove into me. I wanted this for so long but it felt so wrong now. I pulled my arms forward about to push him away but he pulled away, and still holding my face, looked at me straight in the eyes. His face had so much emotion and pain that I couldn't pull away more.

"Because I can't. God Scarlet, I can't. Do you think I would be standing here if I could? I left to establish myself so I could come back with a degree and take you away. But all that is crumbling right before my eyes and I can't just sit back and watch. I want you to join my family and be there with me." Ace said. "I want to give you a life where you can do whatever you want! To be free of anything away from everything here!". I pushed Ace away and this time he didn't resist. All the music and lights came back at me tenfold and I stumbled more than I already was. I needed to breathe. I stumbled forward and my vision got blurry and I started to smack into people.

"Sorry," I mumbled but kept going. I needed to get out of here. Somewhere I can breathe. It was all coming too fast and so I did the only thing I knew how to do it seemed like, I ran. I ran and ran as much as my drunk legs could go, all with Ace trailing behind me. I ran upstairs on the second floor, to the third, and then the fourth. Ace was always behind me, calling my name. Finally, I was able to turn a sharp turn and found a door that was unlocked on the fourth floor. I shut the door and locked it. I heard footsteps and Ace's voice but I slid down the door and covered my ears. Soon, he left the hallway and I was left alone. I looked around and realized I ended up in one of the guest bedrooms. I relaxed my head against my shoulder and pulled out my flask from my thigh strap. I turned it upside down and guzzled the insides of it. I got up and walked over to the bed and collapsed on it. I tightened my grip on my flask trying to fight back the tears, but I was so confused and so angry that they streamed down my face. I can't lie to myself saying that I don't love him, but something inside is whispering that I shouldn't. Telling me that this isn't healthy and I need to open my eyes. Like there was someone standing right in front of me that was keeping me away from Ace, and being with him. More tears fell down my face as I began to ugly cry.

-X-

Zoro Pov:

Have you ever you see something you wish you could immediately wipe away from your memory? But it stays and you are forced to remember every detail as it burns into your head? Something you thought about maybe once and thought nothing of it until you saw it with your own eyes? That's what I saw when the crowd seems to split before me when I just so happened to turn around while standing in the middle of the crowd. I had walked away from Scarlet and melted back into the crowd but when I turned around I saw Ace cupping his hands in her face, kissing her. I froze and there was pang in my chest. I dropped the cookie I was eating and it fell to the floor. I felt the alcohol itch up my throat, making a burning trail to my mouth.

She was never yours to begin with, idiot.

I was in the middle of the crowd but something made my feet move forward. I began to push and shove people and I saw Scarlet running away, her red skirt trailing behind her. I didn't care who I was knocking down, I ran after she and I saw Ace get a head start. I broke out of the crowd and found setup stairs that lead me up to the third floor. I could see Ace following after Scarlet, calling her name but she never stopped or answered back. When we got to the third floor, my head finally started to spin. Everything was becoming a blur and I was reminded how much booze was in my stomach when I leaned over a plastic plant and felt the contents of my stomach spill out of me. Burning all the way up and out.

"Nice, just nice." I heard someone say behind me. I peered over my shoulder and it was Usopp and his girlfriend Kaya. Usopp was dressed as an Indian chief with the headdress's feather poking out every which way, and Kaya was dressed like a deer, makeup, fake horns, and a crop top and short shorts. Usopp was currently giving me a pissed off face.

"Hello," Kaya said.

"Hey, Kaya. What, long nose?" I slurred irritably.

"Other than the fact that you just regurgitated in a plastic plant?" Usopp said. He sighed and looked away. "Anyways, any idea why Ace was running after Scarlet?". I stood back over and wiped my mouth off with my sleeve. Usopp handed me his drink and I drank it to wash away the puke taste.

"No idea," I lied and threw the cup in the plastic plant.

"Didn't they have a thing? Before he moved out?" Usopp asked, pulling a beer out of his costume (don't ask me how he did it).

"According to Scarlet, no," I said. Usopp made a humming noise and closed his eyes.

"You know," he said opening his eyes. "I remember Ace coming over drunk ranting about a fight he and Scarlet had not a too long ago. It was about the penalty for losing the band battle or something like that. I could barely understand him from how drunk he was. But Luffy seemed to understand him fine.". Usopp shook his and sighed. I turned my head and watched Ace make eye contact with me and jog over to me. 

"Hey, ah, have any of you seen Scarlet?" Ace asked, looking worried. 

"Oh yeah, I think she went that way," Kaya said and pointed the complete opposite direction I saw Scarlet go.

"Thank you," Ace said and left in that direction. Usopp an I stared in shock at Kaya. Kaya was very nice and sweet, and very honest. I don't think I ever even heard of her lie.

"Babe, Scarlet went the other direction, towards the guest bedrooms," Usopp said. Kaya gave a surprised look and covered her mouth.

"Oops! My mistake!" Kaya said and she winked at me. Kaya wasn't stupid, she was studying to become a doctor and one of the smartest people in our class. Usopp turned to head to look at me the gears in his head began to click. He got a fierce look in his eye and nodded at me.

"You got her number right?" Usopp asked. I nodded and pulled my phone out of my pocket. I scrolled through my contacts and found Scarlet's phone number and called it. I let it ring and it felt like they were the was the slowest rings I ever heard. Finally, there was a click but silence followed.

"Hello?" a voice asked quietly.

"Scarlet!?" I slurred and panicked a little. She sounded as if she was crying. I heard a sniffle.

"Who else, bone head? W-what do you want?" she asked, stammering.

"Where are you?! Ace just ran off looking for you." I said. Usopp and Kaya leaned in closer to hear better but I shoved their faces away.

"I don't want to talk about it," she said quietly. Then my brain finally connected the dots. Looking at Kaya and Usopp, they were a happy couple. Totally comfortable with themselves. But Scarlet was not that way with Ace. That's why she ran away-she pushed him away. And Ace was fucking CHASING her.

"Scarlet," I said gritting my teeth and started walking towards the direction Kaya gave me. "Where are you?". I was gripping onto my phone, with just a little most force I would shatter my phone.

"And why should I tell you?" Scarlet argued.

"Because if Ace finds you again, I will be there," I said. There was a long silence. "Scarlet? Where are you?".

"Fourth floor, in one of the guest bedrooms," she said quickly. I turned the corner and there was a long hallway filled with doors.

"Do you know which one?" I asked.

"No," Scarlet said. I sighed.

"Just stay where you are, I'll come and find you," I said.

"You don't have to, I'm fine," Scarlet argued.

"Bullshit," I said and began to open the door. All were open until I reached a door that was locked. "Scarlet?".

"Yeah?" I heard quietly.

"Open the door," I said.

"No," she said from behind the door.

"Scarlet, please let me in, please," I said very worriedly. There was silence and she hung up on the phone. Then I heard a click from the door and I saw the door slowly open. Scarlet's face peeked out from it. Her eyes were slightly red like she had been crying and the tears had begun to dry up.

"What do you want, moss head?" she asked. Honestly? I didn't know what I wanted or why I was standing there. Normally, I couldn't care less but something was compelling me from keeping her alone. It was a gut feeling, a sense of protection, Usopp's determined look, Kaya's lie, and the swirl of alcohol in my brain that led me here. I looked into Scarlet's eyes and realized how I never noticed her eye color. It was like aqua and it was always changing from green and blue. It looked like the ocean itself and the color never stayed the same. "Zoro, you're staring at me,". I snapped out of my thoughts and blinked. I thought back to my original thoughts.

"I want to come in," I said. "So please, let me in,". Normally, I would bust through the door without a second thought but Scarlet would just fight back. I needed her to open up willing. That way I can open up to her too. Slowly, Scarlet opened the door and stepped back. I came in and shut the door behind me and locked it.


	10. Locked Doors, White Walls, and Electric Riots

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A riot breaks out and in the effort of trying to control it, someone ends up getting seriously hurt.

Ace's Pov:

You never realize how much you fucked up until it already happened. I don't regret what I did because for living with the girl you want to kiss constantly isn't easy but I never thought it would cause her to run away. Marco was back on the first floor talking to some girl in an angel costume, but I was able to find Luffy. He was eating as much as he possibly could in a knight costume.

"Nice party," I said as I came up behind him. Luffy turned around and his eyes widened seeing it was me. He swallowed his bite.

"Ace! You made it!" Luffy said. "Have you talked to Scarlet?". I sighed and ran my fingers through my thick hair, brushing it out of my face.

"Yeah, but she ran off and now I can't find her. It didn't end well," I said, somber with the events that I caused. 

"I'm sorry bro. You know how difficult she can be. You gonna be okay?" Luffy asked me looking sympathetic. I took a deep breath.

"Yeah, don't worry about me, okay?" I said. Really I was wondering what the hell I would do next. Go back to the university feeling like I've been defeated? In the short time that I've been gone had Luffy's first mate, Zoro I think, got her to fall for him? I don't know the exact details about it considering it's the first I've heard about it. I don't know if I should be impressed or feel like I have competition. I've met Zoro on a couple of occasions but I do remember him being the captain of the dojo team and how he's supposedly really good. Physically you could say he was intimidating but I never saw him as a threat or as someone who would lash out for no reason.

"You know what you're going to do next?" Luffy asked. I looked at him and was surprised how he knew what I was thinking. I thought for a moment.

"Yeah, I think so," I said and pulled out my phone. Luffy reached out and put his hand on the hand that was holding my phone. He looked at me in the eyes.

"Bro, I know I was the one who told you about what Scarlet said but I just want you to know, I'm not on any side in this whatever the fuck it is. Zoro is my best friend, Scarlet is like my sister, and you're my brother. Ultimately it's up to Scarlet who shes with." Luffy said, and let go of my hand, and turned to walk away. I watched him walk away and thought to myself he must be drunk because he's rarely that serious. I looked back down at my phone and even though he was probably drunk, he was right. It was up to Scarlet who shes with. But that didn't mean I would give up and let her go when she feels like she has to move on. I still love her and I want to be there for her. I looked for her number in my phone called her as I raised the phone to my ear.

-X-

Scarlet Pov:

My phone kept ringing and ringing until I turned it off. I didn't even look to see who it was. I could tell Zoro was about to smash it to pieces. We were both laying on the bed looking up at the ceiling, just talking.

"So your aunt is Hancock Boa?" Zoro asked drunkenly.

"Yeah she was like a year or two younger than my mom," I said, or rather slurred.

"You're a mom was like royalty to the underground, you know that right? As far as I know, the Amazons are like an empire." Zoro slurred. We were both trying to sober up.

"Believe me I know, I went to visit my aunt once and people would clear the way for my mom. One girl even bowed like Japanese style." I said.

"Does that make you like a lost princess?" Zoro asked, smirking slightly.

"What? No-" I began to say but Zoro cut me off. 

"And yet you're a waitress," he said. I scoffed and rolled my eyes. The bed was in the middle of the room and everything inside of the bedroom was blue or grey. The sheet was blue but the curtains and furniture were all dark grey. There was a window that looked out into the backyard, where a large pool and hot tub resided. On the wall next to the window was the entrance to the bathroom. Inside there was a detached simple sink and a toilet next to it and a shower bath combo aligning the back wall. overall it was a normal bathroom, other than the engraved towels on the towel rack. Back in the bedroom there were two nightstands on either side of the bed and there was a large dresser in front of the bed and a TV was on top of it.

"I haven't seen my aunt in years. And I can't walk in there like 'hey what's up, help me out'. It doesn't work that way." I said. Zoro turned his head and looked at me with his drunken vision and I feel him staring at me. I turned my head to look at him. I squinted my eyes a little.

"Your hair is so neon it hurts my eyes," I said. Zoro had taken off his bandanna a while ago and tied it around his arm, revealing his spiky green hair.

"And your eyes are so weird they hurt my brain," Zoro said.

"What do you mean weird?!" I asked and Zoro just kept staring.

"I mean like the color like I can't tell if they're blue, green, or hell some shade of weird grey," Zoro said. Someone knocked on the door and Zoro's phone started ringing. The knob started shaking like someone was trying to get in.

"ZORO!!! Is Scarlet with you? There's a situation downstairs that requires both of your assistance!" Usopp yelled from the other side of the door. Zoro got up and unlocked the door and I followed him to the door. Usopp stood there in an Indian chief costume and Nami was there in a black cat costume.

"Nice costume, Scarlet," Nami said and looked at Zoro than back at me, then winked.

"What is it?" I asked. Usopp looked at me and then back at Zoro. He just shook his head as if shaking away a thought.

"Its bad down on the first floor. There was bar fight and now there's a fucking mosh pit!" Nami said. Zoro looked at me then back at them.

"Then what are we waiting for?" I said and walked out of the room.

-X-

Zoro Pov:

When we got there it was insane, it was a riot. Scarlet came up behind me and cringed when she saw what was going on. From the second floor inside the balcony, we overlooked the foray and got a bird's eye view of it all.

"We need to get down there and find the others and find out a way to stop this before the police get here," Scarlet said and without any hesitation, headed down the stairs, shoving past people running away from the madness below.

"Are you kidding me?! We need to LEAVE before the cops get here!" Nami said.

"Easy for you to say! You're not the one who has to explain this to Kaya's parents why the hell there was a party at their house when they pay for your tuition!" Usopp argued.

"WILL YOU TWO QUIT IT!" I barked. I was not listening to one of their arguments again and I ran downstairs before I could hear any more of it. I looked around for Scarlet or for anyone I knew but for a while, I didn't see anyone. I ducked an dodged a lot of attacks and I finally caught the eye of Scarlet's red costume. She had her sword pulled out of its sheath and was in a defensive stance. So far no one attacked her and I ran up to her while unsheathed all three of mine.

"So yours are real too?" she asked when I came to guard her back.

"Of course, I'm not much for the show," I commented. She raised her stained red lips to a smirk and she looked truly terrifying and beautiful.

"Good, " she said and launched an attack at one guy. She used the blunt side her blade but she still knocked the guy to the ground. I began to defend myself too with people nearly piling up on us. I saw Scarlet land a high kick in someone's face and I slashed at someone to my side. I scanned the crowd and saw Chopper fighting off some wizard and was clobbering each other. I motioned for Scarlet to move with me and I ran towards Chopper. When I got there Chopper landed the last blow and the wizard hit the floor.

"Oi Chopper! Have you seen the others?" I asked. Chopper turned and looked at me and a smile spread across his face. 

"Zoro! Thank god! One minute everything was good and I was with Robin and Franky and the next everything went to hell and I lost them!" Chopper explained. He looked around and cocked his head. "Wheres Scarlet?". I almost gasped and looked behind me but I saw Scarlet running towards us.

"Chopper!" She said and ran up to him and hugged him.

"You alright?! Where are the others?" She asked. I was almost jealous of Chopper for a moment.

"He doesn't know but if we stick together we should be able to find the others faster," I said. Scarlet nodded and we formed a circle linking arms around each other and began to move. We headed towards the food tables if you think it was hard moving a dancing crowd, try a rioting one. We were constantly being shoved and attacked and Chopper was almost thrown to the ground. We almost made it to the other side when my stomach dropped at the sound of a voice.

"SCARLET!!!" Ace's voice roared above the crowds' and he came out of nowhere ripping Scarlet's arm away from mine and held her by the shoulders. Scarlet was too frozen to do anything. "Come on we got to get out of here. Luffy is probably in the driveway with Marco in the truck,". A guy came out of nowhere about to throw a punch at Ace but he beat him to it and knocked him out in one hit. I watch Scarlet open her mouth to argue but then something out of the corner of my eye coming towards at incredible speed. I thought it was going to come for me but a moment notices it changed its course. And I realized it was coming at Scarlet and it was not slowing down. I saw a glimpse of a knife and I just reacted. I jumped in the way and saw it was a guy in a gorilla suit. The knife had to be at least six inches long and I raised my swords just in time for him not to hit Scarlet. I felt the blade make contact with my face and I pushed him with my swords and looked into his eyes before slashing down at him. His eyes were dilated and were going crazy, this guy wasn't drunk, he was on drugs. When the gorilla hit the floor, I leaned over almost toppled over in pain. A yell rose from my throat.

"ZORO!!" Scarlet screamed and ripped herself away from Ace. I clutched my face where I had been cut and Scarlet came over to me. It was deep I could tell and blood was pouring from it. Scarlet held my face and slowly made me remove my hand away from my face. She gasped. "Chopper! What should we do?". Chopper took a good look and looked at her.

"He needs medical attention immediately. If we can get him outside and his eye bandaged he should make it to the hospital." Chopper said. Scarlet took her skirt and ripped off a huge chunk, leaving a large portion of her legs exposed.

"Will this work?!" Scarlet asked. Chopper nodded and Scarlet got to work wrapping it around my wound. Meanwhile Ace was guarding us with his fist raised. I watched Scarlet wrap the cloth and thought to myself bitterly how it Ace would have left her alone, none of this would have happened. But regardless if it was true or not, I shook away the thought. Because one thing I knew for sure was that if I was strong enough, none of us would be in this situation. "Zoro?!" Scarlet said and cupped my face her hands, snapping away from my thoughts. "Can you stand? We're getting out of here!" and she helped me up from the floor and put herself under my arm. We walked outside of the mansion while Chopper and Ace had our backs and she halfway carried me all the way to a purple truck. A guy with blonde hair and a purple shirt was sitting in the driver's seat. Scarlet threw open the door and shoved me in. "MARCO. HOSPITAL, NOW." she barked and climbed in after me as Ace and Chopper hopped in the truck bed. The guy-Marco-looked at Ace and Ace nodded at him, then Marco looked at me and floored it.


	11. Evolution, Not a Setback

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Zoro comes to terms with losing an eye.

Zoro Pov:

It was bright. So fucking bright. My brain racked up recent memories but it was all a slurred mess. I closed my eyes and try to block the brightness with my arm but my arm caught onto something. I tried pulling it up but it would get so far and then stop.

"Wha-?" I nearly moaned. I turned my head and my vision was blurry and wouldn't focus at first. Finally, my eyes adjusted and I saw brown straps around my wrists. My other wrist had them too. Restraints. My head felt like it was about to crack open and bits of pieces came to me, The Halloween Party, Scarlet, Ace, riot, hospital.

"Hey buddy, you okay?" I heard a voice say. I looked up and saw Chopper with a small clear, plastic cup of water in his hand. He was still in his costume. "Promise not to wreck the place if we take these off?" and motioned towards the restraints with his cup. I nodded slowly in a daze. Chopper came over and unbuckled the restraints and I sat up slowly. I took my left wrist and began to rub in with my right hand and I looked around the room. I started to squeeze my palm letting the sweat collect in the center. Then I heard the door open and I looked up and it was Dad entering the room. He was in normal jeans and a sweatshirt. It was so weird seeing him in everyday clothes.

"Oh! Zolo, I've seen you've woken up," he said and walked over to me. I looked at Chopper confused.

"He got here last night after Scarlet and all they left." Chopper explained.

"Scarlet left?" I asked, my voice a little horse.

"You probably don't remember because you were ejected with a tranquilizer to calm you down. But yeah, Ace took her home." Chopper said. My mouth made an 'o' shape and my Dad put his hand on my shoulder.

"How are you feeling, Zolo?" Dad asked. He looked at me deep in the eyes when he asked.

"Ah, a little weird I guess," I said. "Why?" I asked. Chopper and my Dad both looked at each other and my dad nodded.

"Zolo, do you remember at all why you were brought here?" Dad asked. I tried to think back to last night.

"Because I got into a fight I think?" I said. My Dad looked back and Chopper and Chopper pulled out his phone and turned on the front camera and gave me his phone. I looked at myself and I couldn't believe that I was staring at myself.

"Holy shit," past my lips in a shocked whisper. My right side of the face was bandaged up and I knew what that meant. I only had one eye. I reached up and touched the bandage and slowly pulled it off my face. My right eye was permanently shut and there was a single vertical scar that was still pink down the center of it. I still couldn't believe it was me I was looking at.

"Zolo, can you tell me what exactly happened?" Dad asked. I looked up from the camera and I racked up my brain for memories to answer his question.

"I got caught up in a fight and I remember getting cut," I said simply.

"Well, when Chopper here explained it to me earlier you sounded more like a hero, Zolo. You protected someone." Dad said. I looked away from him and back on the camera. What I did, I think, was just pure reflex. "And this someone-Scarlet- do you care about her?" I curled my figures up into a fist.

"Yeah, she's my friend," I said quickly, shutting my eye. Chopper chuckled.

"Are you saying that because you got friend zoned?" Chopper said.

"Friend zoned? Do you like this girl, Zolo?" Dad asked. I groaned and buried my face in my hands.

"How come every time I talk to you dating is always brought up?!" I complained. The door opened and a nurse walked in wearing a blue set of scrubs. Her blonde hair was tied back in a braided bun.

"Zoro Roronoa?" the nurse asked, holding a clipboard.

"WHAT?!"I reacted, still worked up a little. The nurse cut her eyes at me and put her hand on her hip.

"Well I see you're out of your restraints, it would be a shame if you had to be restrained again, wouldn't it?" The nurse said. The look she gave me was like the one Scarlet gave me once. It sent shivers down my spine.

"No," I grumbled and the nurse came over and set her clipboard down on a table next to my bed.

"We just need to check your blood pressure and see if your eye has healed properly, then you can be on your way." the nurse said and proceeded to collect my blood pressure and inspect my eye when the doctor came in. He took a good look at my chart and raised his eyebrow.

"Well kid, it looks to me you're all healed up. You can go on home, honestly, it's a miracle you healed this fast. Take care, alright?" the doctor said and I was sent home within the next couple of hours.

-X-

It was the next day before I heard back from Scarlet. Probably because of shes mad about what happened at the hospital. Thinking back, she was just worried about me. Although I was supposed to be taking it easy and not push myself, I was working out when she called. My injury only gave me more motivation to get stronger. I was in my room, lifting weights in the corner of the room. They were smaller than the ones at dojo but the sufficed for now. Each time I would do a rep my breath would get shaky and my eye would go in and out of focus. As soon as I stood up, I lost balance and stumbled at little like my legs couldn't bear the weight of me. I caught myself on the wall before I fell and I let my vision come back into focus. I breathed even and slow. Then from the other side of the room, my phone started to vibrate and "Cold Hard Bitch" by Jet started to go off. That was Scarlet's ringtone from when Usopp and Luffy stole my phone and gave everyone in my contacts individual ringtones. I never bothered changing because well, I didn't exactly know how. The technology wasn't exactly my strong suit. I walked over there about as carefully as I could. I unplugged it from the charger and answered.

"I heard it's your birthday," Scarlet said as soon as the phone touched my ear. My entire world just kind of shifted in a reminder that today was my birthday. But there was no way I was going to let Scarlet know I forgot my own birthday. Scarlet started to laugh, but it was more of a sad but soft laugh. The sound rang in my ears even after she stopped. "You forgot didn't you?" She said in between her laughter." I can't really say you're an idiot for forgetting your own birthday because I have actually done it myself." she said. I gave a snort.

"I highly doubt that Ace or any of that rowdy crowd like Bonnie let you forget about your birthday," I said. Scarlet gave one last laugh as it seemed to fade away along with her light mood. She went quiet for a while.

"Yeah, but they weren't always there, exactly." She said softly. Like her lips barely moved to say it. I felt a little pang in my chest. She had once said before Ace and before Bonnie she was completely alone. "Anyways, hows the eye?". Her question snapped me back into the present.

"Gone," I said and fell back into my bed. I stared up at my ceiling and watched my ceiling fan turn. I found a ball I was practicing my depth perception with from last night before falling asleep in my sheets.

"Oh damn dude. Is it infected at all?" she asked.

"Nope. It was a clean cut apparently. I got sent home yesterday." I said. I started to throw up the ball and try to catch it.

"It's probably weird getting used to," Scarlet said. The ball came down and I completely missed, and the ball landed on my shoulder.

"Yeah my depth perception is off but if curly brow can fight with one eye so can I," I said and threw up the ball again.

"You realize he has two eyes, right? He just covers one up with his hair," she said and the ball landed on my chest. "So any plans for today?". I threw up the ball again.

"The guys at my dad's dojo might do cake and ice cream but that's it as far as I know," I explained nonchalantly.

"What? I thought the crew would throw a huge party or something," Scarlet said. This time I caught the ball.

"They tried to believe me but I was able to convince them to just let the Halloween party act as a birthday party too," I said. I played with the play turning it around to let me examine it before tossing it up in the air again.

"Talk about worst birthday party ever," she said.

"Not really, I had fun," I said. I caught the ball again.

"Last time I checked losing an eye didn't count as fun," Scarlet said. I sat up and rolled my eye.

"As everyone keeps telling me," I said hotly. I got up from my bed and put Scarlet on speaker before setting my phone down on my dresser on the other side of my room. I picked up some of my weights and started to work out again. "So enough about my birthday, when yours?"

"April 19th," Scarlet said.

"Hey, that's pretty close to when prom is," I said.

"It's a month apart, how is that close?" she asked.

"Closer than it is now," I told her. I strained a little lifting the dumbbell. "Anyways, why'd you call?"

"Well you know, to see if your dumb ass was still alive and all. Oh and to remind you it's Monday and we have dojo practice," she said. I dropped my dumbbell, it hit the floor with a thud. 

"SHITTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTT," I said and ran into my closet while trying not to fall over from a head rush. First, I forgot it was my birthday, then I forgot it was Monday. If my ass didn't get to school real quick, my ass will be well cooked and chewed.

"Yeah, so hurry up and get the fuck down here. Hawkeye knows about your injuries because he pulled me out of class to ask me what the fuck was up. I told him you went to the hospital but he said if I didn't get your ass down here by practice I was going to get MY ass chewed." Scarlet said.

"Shit shit shit. God dammit." I said as I changed into my dark jeans.

"Sometimes I feel like the entire point of vice-captain is to be your secretary and clean up your messes, Zoro. I got you absences cleared and excused because of the quote on quote doctor's appointment."

"How the fuck did you manage that?!" I asked. I found a shirt on my floor and put it on. I didn't care what it was.

"Doesn't matter. Just get your ass down here. The bell just rang for lunch." Scarlet said. I put on my jacket and grabbed my keys and ran downstairs.

"On it. Just tell Hawkeye I'm on my way." I said. I turned a sharp corner and ran out of my door.

"God speeds to you," she said. I started up my motorcycle and the engine roared to life.

"Scarlet you're wonderful," I said and went to hang up but I saw that the call had already ended...


	12. Changes

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Scarlet spends the day with Ace and is forces to try and learn some Japanese culture.

Scarlet pov:

Ace put my hand on my shoulder as I watched Zoro get wheeled away on a surgery table. Everything in me wanted to scream and go after them but I knew I couldn't. I gripped the fabric of my skirt and there was anger in me trying to take control. This was all my fucking fault. If I had been paying attention or had the nerve to face Ace, none of this would have happened. Instead, I ran like a fucking coward and Zoro picked up the slack. My heart rate started to exhilarate and I could feel it pounding in my chest as I watched Zoro finally disappear through a set of white double doors surrounded by doctors. I felt so much worse watching him go because I knew he didn't deserve any of this, that he just got caught up in the middle of my problems. I took a step forward but Ace pushed me back.

"You may be a good first responder, but there's nothing else you can do now but wait." Ace said.

"It's all my fucking fault," I said silently under my breath. I felt my eyes start to sting. Ace put his other hand on my other shoulder and spun me around so that I looked at him dead in the face.

"It is not your fault, Scarlet. I would have done the same and I wish it were me on that table instead of him." Ace said. His tone sounded assertive and collected but his confidence seems to fade and his face showed a sorrowful expression. "I said I would protect you and he was the one that really did." his shoulders started to relax and at that moment, it seemed like the entire world was gone and it was just me and him. The facial expression he wore was so bare and painful. I rarely saw him like this and it was like all that made him Ace started to slip away. Then Marco came up behind him and snapped us both back into reality.

"You two need to quit your winning and stop blaming yourselves, Jesus Christ," Marco said. I got angry.

"The fuck did you just say, pineapple head?" I snapped and ripped myself away from Ace.

"I said quit your fucking whining sweetheart, it's getting us nowhere. You too, Ace." Marco said. I ready to throw a punch at him before Chopper caught my fist from behind me.

"You really should listen to him and stop blaming yourself!" Chopper said. I still struggled to hit Marco but Chopper ended up bear hugging me to keep me back.

"You can't go blaming yourself in situations like this. The green guy over there knew the risks and took them. The last thing you need to do is patronize him when he comes back out. He got cut, worst case scenario he loses his eye. He's not going to die so calm down." Marco said. Marco looked at me with poison in his face, and I just wanted to punch him more. But I knew he was right. This isn't the first time someone I've known has gotten hurt, but every time I would find a way to blame myself. Like I was the one who raised the sword or fired the gun. I wanted to scream and kick but I knew it wouldn't make anything better. Despite Marco's laid back nature, he was actually studying to become a doctor, attending medical classes at the University and was set up with an internship at a local clinic in New World. My shoulders relaxed and Chopper let go. In our world, we rarely get to see actual doctors, we get those who are studying to become one and for close to nothing, we get to be the guinea pigs they practice on. I looked at Marco and then at Ace., remembering that I was once a little pig that Marco patched up. They were a good part of my past I cherished but as I come to realize, nothing ever stays the same. I kept looking at Ace and remembering how he was all I ever wanted. Someone with no regrets and was always kind to me. I never understood why he was so nice when he so oblivious (or so I thought) that he just wanted to be friends. I tried moving on but I always felt so tied to him because he was the one who opened my eyes to the underground part of our world that was so intoxicating and freeing. He was my first ever crush, love, and was there for many first experiences.

I turned and walked away from the group of males to sit alone in the waiting room. I was going to wait for Zoro. I sat there and blocked out all outside noise and distractions and stared at the plain white wall. I heard murmur among them but I did not indulge myself into their conversation. I tried to breathe, but every thought in my mind turning over and flipping every each way. What if there was something making his condition worse? Something we missed? What if something very serious lay underneath the very skin of the situation? Without realizing, as if to hold on to something real, I dug my fingernails into my thigh until I broke the skin and began to bleed. Then I started to scratch, it was like an impulse and it became as if my entire thigh itched and itched and I just kept scratching. I could barely feel my nails scraping into the skin of my thigh, digging into like a grave. My mind went completely blank and I didn't process what I was doing to my thigh completely until Ace ran over to me took my hand away from my thigh and yelled: "Scarlet, stop!". I looked up at him and his face was so worried and sad that I couldn't bear to look at it. I looked away but caught glimpse of my hand, my fingernails were caked in blood. I looked down at my thigh and it was scratched raw. I didn't even process that I was doing that.

"Let's get you home, it's been a long night." Ace said gently and I felt his touch across my arm.

"What about-" I began to say but Ace took my hand made me slowly rise and didn't let me finish. 

"Zoro will be fine, I promise. But right now you need to get some rest. I don't think he would want you to beat yourself up over this, okay Scarlet?" Ace said. I tried thinking about what I would feel if I was in Zoro's bones and nodded and Ace pulled me away from the seat and walked over to Marco.

"Hey, I got to take her home dude. Can I have the keys?" Ace said.

"Oh hell no, after what happened last time? And besides what about this kid?" Marco said and gestured to Chopper, who was sitting on the bench looking at a medical magazine he found on the coffee table in front of him.

"I can stay here. They have medical books I can read. You go on and take Scarlet home." Chopper said without even looking up from his magazine.

"Well I can't just leave you," Marco said and Chopper finally looked at Marco. Marco looked back at me like trying I was the only one he could reason with.

"You have no idea how fine he actually is staying here," I said. "This place is like Disney world to him,". Marco looked back at Chopper. Chopper was trying to hide an exciting face but I knew he just wanted to be able to read all the books he could in peace. And none of us had peaceful natures.

"Alright fine. But the name is Marco if you need ANYTHING kid, here's my cell." Marco said and tore off a piece of paper from a clipboard sign-in sheet and wrote down his number and gave it to Chopper.

"Will do. Take care, Scarlet." Chopper said and retreated to the bookshelves.

"Let me know if he's okay," I said.

"You know I will. Scarlet. Now go home," Chopper said and Marco shrugged and lead us out the door.

"The medical professors at the University would love him, anyway, let's go," Marco said. 

-X-

I woke up the next morning with Ace on my couch and a pounding headache. No matter how much I sobered up last night, I still got a hangover. Through the haze, I saw Ace open the door to my room and poked his head in with concern in his eyes.

"Good morning sleepy head. How did you sleep?" He asked. I looked down trying to recollect it all while hiding my body under the floof of my covers in my bed. I remembered drinking a lot, and a riot, and......oh god Zoro. My throat immediately closed up and tightened. Ace opened the door fully and came closer and wrapped his arm around me. He had a tight black t-shirt on and it was weird feeling the fabric of his long sleeve shirt wrap around me. I laid my head down on his chest and accepted his hug. I placed my hand on his chest and tried not to cry as I balled my fist up in his shirt. Ace smelled like beer from the night before and Old Spice. It had a deep scent of the salty ocean and dying smolder that he always seemed to have on him. One thing that pulled me to Ace was the familiarity of him and his world. His world was always changing but he always stayed the same. Ace and I liked that because there was a certain safety in that. "Not too good then I see." Ace whispered softly. I pulled him closer and hugged him under his arms as if I was asking him not to leave again. His arms squeezed my back and waist as if he was telling me he would never leave. That was another comfort I had an Ace. We could say things without ever really having to actually say them. Funny how you would think we would have picked up on each other's feelings way sooner.

"Hows is he?" I asked very quietly.

"He's fine, Scarlet. Luffy called saying he lost his right eye but he was going to be okay." Ace said.

I felt a choking sob in my throat and rubbed my head into his chest. How could I let this happen? Ace let go of me briefly only to bend down and wrap his arm under my legs and pick me up. His other hand on my back he carried me into the bathroom without any objection. He laid me down in the bathtub and sat down next to me on the wall of the tub. Raising his hand he brushed away my bangs and loomed over me, then placed a small peck on the forehead. Ace looked at me deep in the eyes still holding my bangs back and cupped my face with his other hand.

"How about I make breakfast like the old days and get you all patched up, then you get some more rest? The only thing that's new is I commanded my division as well as Marco, to help with the clean up at Thriller Bark." Ace said. I simply nodded and drifted off to a land of thought. He leaned over the toilet to reach for the cabinet under the sink and grabbed the medical kit. I could hear the click of hard plastic as he opened and pulled out an alcohol wipe, and some gauze. I lifted my thigh as he got on his knees to lean over the tub and wrap the gauze around it. Every time he would wrap it around, I could feel his hands press into the soft, peachy skin. Every touch was like a spark that I tried to suppress, feelings that I thought I long have forgotten. I let him finish and he taped up the gauze carefully, scared that if he pressed wrong in the wrong places it would hurt me. Once the tape was on good and tight, I felt his eyes slowly drink up the image of me laying in the bathtub hungover out of my damn mind. I thought that I looked like shit but he slowly drew his eyes to mine and I could see in his eyes that he thought I was beautiful. It was such a weird feeling and I panicked a little, the lightning shooting across me once again and making my face heat up. I leaned in and wrapped his arms around, his face inches from mine and lifted my body, the same as before. He held me close as I left the lifting of his chest and then wrapped myself in the scent and warmth of him. He slowly set me down on the couch and retreated his arms from me, shaking slightly. Quickly, he gave me the T.V. remote and I pressed the Netflix button it. 

He walked away and stepped into the kitchen and started to cook. I could smell the alluring aroma of the breakfast as I caught up on a reality show that I liked to mindlessly watch. He came back to the couch later and we ate the pancakes he made. He tried to cheer me up by using cherry syrup on mine and whip cream. It did as much as letting him convince me to go to the farmer's market with him and try to keep my mind off everything that had happened the previous night. Even though it was my first instinct to call Zoro and see if he was alright, Ace told me to remember Marco's words and not to baby him. I fought back of course, but coincidently I didn't put my phone on the charger last night and my phone had died. 

Eventually, when we came home with more cherries and a dozen ostrich eggs, Ace admitted that had to leave. He was called into service in the Whitebeard world, and normally he would have just taken me with him but he knew it wasn't a good idea this time, so this had to be a goodbye. I understood completely. The Whitebeard crew and I had our differences but overall they just wanted Ace and me to be together. But as things were as they are now, I don't think its good for me to be with a whole group of people telling me what I should feel. I felt like an empty husk walking around but I didn't know if I wanted hugs or to scream. I was drowning in collective regrets that had built up over time. I looked up and Ace was still standing there, being patient with me and looking at me as if I was the only thing that concerned him. Ace and I had our issues, hell both of us have fucked up more times than I can count, but we always found each other again. We were not exactly stable and the lives we have are toxic, you never know when someone is going to die and things change so fast it's like you can never have a calm moment. I was caught in between two worlds that were tearing me apart in the process. Making me choose and demanding I made my decision right now. But the problem was that I couldn't. I didn't even know what was pulling me to hang out with Zoro. I just knew that being with Zoro made me feel so safe and a little calmed. But with Ace, he made my blood pump and feel like every day will be different.

Days past and eventually Monday came around. And with Monday came new found knowledge that today was Zoro's birthday and that he didn't show up to school until I was sitting beside Law during 5th in Chemistry. Zoro walked in with a bandage over his eye and the entire class stopped to look at him. Zoro looked around and without a second thought spoke out.

"Something bothering you?" He said seething. He glared at the class as he took a seat next to me at our lab table.

"Your hospital bracelet is still on," I said to him when he pulled out his notebook.

"What- oh shit. Totally forgot about that." He said and in one swift motion, he tore off the bracelet and chunked it the trash can. I personally thought it was impressive how he did that so easily when those things felt like iron shackles. That set the tone for the rest of the day until dojo practice. Earlier that day Mihawk pulled me aside and chewed my ass saying I had to get Zoro to school or else I led the class that day. And to be completely honest with you, I didn't feel like putting up with that bull shit so I called Zoro to get him down here. At one point during the practice, Hatchin ran up to me with his white dreads pulled into a bun.

"Scarlet-chan!" He said. Hatchin was actually from Japan and in an effort to learn more about the culture that brought about dojo in the first place. Hatchin insisted using honorifics to start us off. I was over at the water fountain filling my water bottle up.

"What is it Hatchin-sama?" I asked. I didn't really mind using them with a select few since I was Japanese (it's not apparent in my appearance but my father was maybe a half or a fourth Japanese.)

"No, no Scarlet-chan. Youse uses sama when you highly respect that person or when addressing someone above you in social status." Hatchin said.

"Arnt you a senior?" I asked, confused. 

"If you wanted to address me because I was an upperclassman you would use senpai but its more commonly used for teachers than students," Hatchin explained. Hatchin was quite a character honestly. He normally wore cut off t-shirts that had holes almost down to the hem like he had extra arms or something. He had a sun birthmark on his forehead and was honestly sweet at heart.

"Oh okay. But why wouldn't sama work? I asked. Hatchin took a deep breath and exhaled. He was learning patients since we started to use honorifics.

"I'll tell you more about it later, okay? Anyways, what happened to Zoro-kun?" Hatchin asked.

"You mean the bandage?" I asked. Hatchin nodded.

"Yeah, that." He said and I took a deep breath and exhaled. Zoro was leading a stretch exercise and would glance here and there at me.

"It wouldn't really be my business to tell but a guy came at us at a party and Zoro took the hit. He beat the guy but his eye got sliced out." I said. I looked down and balled my fist into my robe. "I should have seen him coming but I preoccupied with an argument with someone I know. I don't know if he just wanted to save me or thought of me incapable of defending myself." I nearly whispered in rage. Ace did a good job picking up the pieces but a part of me was enraged with him thinking I was weak.

"But you're the most capable person here!" Hatchin argued. "Seriously before you joined the team was a mess. Zoro-kun and the old vice-captain were always arguing and nothing got done. In the end, it was Zoro-kun or Law-kun that pulls us through a tournament. But now it with you helping it seems like everyone can pull their own weight. Because if we didn't you would come up behind us and sock us a good one!" Hatchin said. I looked at Hatchin surprised at the truth that Hatchin said. And no one ever praised me like that before.

"Thank you, Hatchin-kun," I said. I was almost speechless. Hatchin blushed a deep red and scratched his face a little with his finger.

"Well, it's true after all." He said meekly.

"Oi! Scarlet!" Zoro said and jogged over us after the exercise he was leading was done.

"You're supposed to say chan or sama," Hatchin said a little defensive. Zoro glared at Hatchin before taking a deep breath and looking at me straight in the eye.

"Alright, Scarlet-chan. I wanted to say thanks for earlier and you know this." Zoro said and pointed at his bandage.

"Are you thanking me for helping you lose an eye?!" I asked dumbfounded. Hatchin looked at both us and threw up his hands before leaving. He looked extremely awkward. 

"What?! No! You practically got me to the hospital. Although, next time lets just let Chopper handle it. I don't feel like being pumped up with tranquilizer." Zoro said. I laughed a little because I couldn't help it. When Zoro left on the table through the hospital doors he kept screaming saying that he was fine when he found the strength the punch one of the doctors for sticking a needle in him. They then tranquilized him and he collapsed on the table again. Then, it had been horrible to watch.

But now I could see that Zoro had grown up since then. He jaw was more set and he seemed so much older despite being only a year older today. His eyes gave off new energy and he seemed more mature than before. He even had more of a proud stance.

"Yeah, no problem. But I don't suppose you would want a better birthday?" I asked.

"No, honestly I don't care that I lost an eye. My depth perception is off for now but I will get used to it." He said. I sighed with so many confusing emotions behind it, I couldn't even know what I was feeling. 

"Why are you stubborn?" I asked, finding something to finally say. 

"Like you're one to talk," Zoro said. I had to chuckle at that one because, in the end, Zoro was right.


	13. Girl Time

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Bonnie and Scarlet have a jagged past but learns to put that behind them and become friends again.

Three weeks later:

Everything had become a frozen hell in a matter of weeks and I watched ice start to glaze over the streets at Robin's house from the small window that peaked into the surface in her basement. Between work and school, it was hard for us to have set days to do our school project on. We were still trying to get used to our group working together and what exactly our history teacher wanted us to do. I looked out the window after reading a chapter in the textbook in silence and noticed the snow was really starting to pile up.

"Looks like the roads are already to get iced over. A blizzard might be on its way." Nami said, who was also looking out the window. 

"That may prove to be a problem," Robin said as she sat down beside Nami with a glass of orange juice. 

"Ah shit. I live on the other side of town from here," I realized. Robin lived on the good side of town-Ohara in the West Blue district. Her house was modeled after classic eastern styled homes with modern comforts like wood floors and a western style kitchen. I learned later that Robin lived with her mother who was one the leading archeologist in the country, Olivia Nico. Her mom was incredible but often left Robin home alone when she left to lead a dig or study something.

"I do too. We should leave before the roads get too bad." Bonnie said, raising herself up from the cloth couch in the corner of the room.

"Too late, the ice has started to stick. And this rate you won't even make it to your house before it completely iced over." Nami said nonchalantly. 

"You all are welcomed to stay here if you want. I have spare rooms," Robin offered as she took a seat next to Bonnie. Bonnie looked at Robin and grew a wicked grin. 

"I wouldn't mind that at all. In fact, I have this super fast hair growing product I could show you guys." Nami said, without giving the offer another thought. 

"I will gladly take that offer. You should stay too, Scarlet. Just like old times." Bonnie said, looking at me with hope gleaming in her eyes. Bonnie and I used to have sleepovers all the time before I met Ace. She would get tired of her seven brothers and just come over. I never minded because it made me feel less lonely but I met Ace and after he moved in she stopped coming over and we grew slowly apart.

"I'll brave the roads," I said and looked back out the window. With the thought of me leaving, I raised my arms and twist my fingers around in my hair to form a ponytail with the hair tie I had on my wrist. 

"Oh don't be a bitch," Bonnie said almost snarling. The sparkle her eyes had snapped out and revealed their true colors. 

"Excuse me?" I asked peeking over my shoulder to glare at Bonnie. But Bonnie didn't back down.

"I know you heard me," Bonnie said without hesitation.

" I'm not being a bitch. I'm being rational. We have school tomorrow," I said irritably, finishing the ponytail and lowering my arms down to my side. 

"I thought that would be the last thing you cared about," Bonnie claimed and I turned fully to face her. Normally Bonnie wasn't like this. Well, a little, but only if you pissed her off did she go off the deep end of bitchiness.

"You're right. It isn't on my list of top priorities, but dojo is. I have a responsibility there. Without me that place would go back to being in shambles as I'm told," I said, trying to give myself a boost of self-confidence. Giving myself a reason to care. 

"Oh and I'm sure that responsibility is a nice green haired prick with large muscles." Bonnie spat. I gave Bonnie a look of murder. I felt rage start to boil up and I started to take deep breaths. Slow and easy. I closed my head turned my head to look away.

"I want you to think about what you just said, and explain it to me. What exactly you are implying?" I demanded. Bonnie was taken back a little and looked at me a little scared but she covered it up quickly with a smirk.

"I'm talking about you and that captain of yours. I heard he pulled some strings to get you on the team and everyone's been talking about how moved up the ranks pretty fast. Kind of looks suspicious if you asked me. And it's almost sad how you still have that Ace boy on a string during all of this." Bonnie said. I felt the air almost get sucked out of me.

"He didn't do fucking shit but take me to practice. It was Mihawk who pulled the strings and I defeated the last vice-captain so I took his spot. Sorry to disclose your gossip but it's all bullshit." I spat back. I hated when people talked about me like that, and Bonnie fucking knew it. She knew what really went through my mind despite what it would look like to someone else. She knew that I wasn't like that, or so I thought. 

"I was about to say, poor Luffy. First his brother, and now his best friend. I wonder how you two are even still friends." Bonnie said and it was then my patience broke. I ran over to her and punched her in the mouth. I couldn't control myself, I just did it. Nami screamed and Robin tried to get me to stop but Bonnie came back at me and punched me in the jaw. I took the hit and gritted my teeth. I ripped her off the couch and threw her into an end table over by the couch, causing it to slam on the ground and make a loud sound that made my head pound between my ears. Bonnie shifted in confusion and I took the chance to get on top of her with her still trying to wham on me. I started to throw down some hits, but before any real damage was done, Robin pulled me off Bonnie and Nami held back Bonnie from coming back after me.

"WHAT THE HELL YOU TWO?! Nami screamed. Bonnie was bleeding on her forehead and her lip was swollen.

"I'm going home, I'm done with this shit," I said and tried to tear myself from Robin but she was stronger than she looked and held me back.

"It's too dangerous, especially on a motorcycle. You should stay," Robin said so calmly it was scary.

"Thanks for the offer but I'm out of here," I said and shook her off of me. I glared at Bonnie and she glared right back. "Besides, I've been in more dangerous situations.". I looked away from Bonnie and took a step forward but Robin caught my arm. I turned to look at her and she was giving me a stern look.

"I will not let you leave on terms like this. I know how you will regret it," Robin said, her words laced with poison.

"Not to mention how you get heated with only a little teasing. Do you think Bonnie meant any harm by what she said?" Nami said and even Bonnie laughed.

"You don't have the slightest clue, don't you? What's become of you, huh, Scarlet?" Bonnie said. She began to chuckle and Nami let go of her. "You used to not give a shit what others thought like always when a so-called friend brings up the gossip, you lose control. Just like you're a dear old dad.". This time I felt a literal shock hit me and I screamed. I thought I was pissed before but my vision became blurry and I felt every fiber in my muscles ignite. I was going to rip out her throat. She was right, I was easily angered when it came to gossip but it was an unspoken condition that if you wanted to keep your head on your shoulder you kept your damn mouth shut about me being like my dad. This time Bonnie was ready for me and caught my fist and tossed me into the air. I landed right next to stairway and the adrenaline from my anger numbed the pain. I did what I did best and got back up on my feet and came at her again. I ran across the room to tackled Bonnie to the ground but before I could wrap my hands around her throat I felt a hit from the back of my head and everything just went black.

-X-

I woke up laying down on the couch and Robin was sitting there on a stool in front of me.

"Wha-?" I moaned, everything hazed and spinning.

"Nami knocked you out to keep you from beating Bonnie. How are you feeling?" Robin asked. My vision cleared up and I noticed how Robin had her phone on her lab facing down. It was a dark purple Samsung phone I think. It looked brand new. All my anger had left my body and I again felt like an empty husk.

"I'm feeling like shit," I said.

"Mind if I ask you a couple of questions?" Robin asked. I looked around. There wasn't anybody else in the room but there was a water bottle sitting at the table next to me.

"What do I have to lose? Yeah sure," I agreed. I slowly tried to sit up but my vision blurred every time I tried.

"Did you and Ace ever go out or hook up?" Robin asked bluntly. I felt so god damn interrogated with the first question but I swallowed my pride and answered the damn questions.

"No. Never," I said truthfully. I finally sat up completely and reached for the water bottle.

"Who got you into dojo?"Robin asked with the same cold tone as before.

"Mihawk owed my mom a favor so he pulled some strings and allowed me to join and eventually challenge the vice-captain for his title," I said. This time, Robin went silent after I answered. She knew my mom was dead and she didn't even take more than a moment to move into the next question.

"Do you and Zoro like each other or have hooked up?" Robin asked with sternness. 

"WHAT THE HELL NO! AND WHY IS THIS ANY OF YOUR BUSINESS?" I asked, blowing up again. But the more I thought about Zoro, some feeling would raise from the dark part of my chest and I couldn't really pinpoint what it was. I thought Zoro, the green samurai who liked booze and Linkin Park. And now he only had one eye. It was weird to think about hooking up with Zoro or him being a crush. Robin was silent for a while and I felt so broken down and fucking thrown around. "I don't know why Bonnie is so mad at me, okay? I think it's because I started to hang out with Ace rather than her and I guess she thought I threw her away. But I never wanted us to separate. Ever. I understand if she feels walked on but goddammit I can't have this, I'm sorry if I ever made her feel like shit but I'm so god damn scared she was right about me being like my father." Tears started to choke my throat and I rambled on further before Robin stopped me.

"She's telling the truth. Bonnie, I think you owe her an apology," Robin said after picking up her phone. I saw the screen and it was on call. The name above it read Nami. Robin hung up and Bonnie came in the room by slamming the door open. I looked up at the top of the stairs and Bonnie looked straight at me. Tears streamed down her cheeks like a flood and her face was contorted in crying. I got up and I wobbled but Bonnie ran down the stairs and by the time I regained my balance she tackled me back down on the couch.

"I'm so fucking sorry, Scarlet." She said and I hugged her, holding her close.

"I'm so fucking sorry too, Bonnie," I said and we cried together.

Later, all of us agreed to stay the night. The snow was almost three inches thick and the ice covered the roads completely. Nami drew a bath in the extra large bathtub in Robin's mom bathroom. It could fit eight people and deep enough to submerge yourself in. The Japanese knew how to bathe. Robin even brought out wine and we made a huge bubble bath. We sat and talked and joked around. It was the one thing I never saw myself doing, but it was so much fun sitting around dicking around with girls I forgot I missed out on a lot. Eventually, it came time for us to eat and we consumed. We made brownies and all sorts of junk food as well as chicken alfredo. We sat down and binged watched a bunch of movies on Netflix. We borrowed some of Robin's clothes ( which I literally almost tore with my thighs) and soon we all fell into a drunken sleep.

-X-

Hazey vision showed electronic numbers on a clock and I yelled when I saw the numbers come together as 1:12 p.m.

"FFFUUUCKIIING HELL!" I yelled and jumped out of the bed. We were all piled up on Robin's bed and we overslept by a lot.

"What is it?" Nami groaned.

"It's 1:12 in the afternoon that what's up!" I said and stripped down to change back into my clothes. I checked my phone and not only did my phone get blown up from messages from Zoro but Law too wondering where I was. Even Hatchin shot me a text of concern. "Shit. Shit. Shit.". I knew Hawkeye was going to fucking kill me so I tore up Robin's house looking for my pants that mysteriously disappeared. Robin and Nami crawled out of bed but Bonnie groaned and refused to get up.

"We already slept through half the day, Scar. Just give it up already." Bonnie said. "Besides we're all hungover as it is.".

"We could go shopping instead though," Nami said. I looked at all of them and they seemed to be content with the idea. Normally, I would be okay with the idea of skipping to shop. I had been desperately needing some new clothes as it is but that was before I became a vice-captain. I thought for a moment. I had been running myself down into the ground and I spent so much time worrying about everyone else but almost nothing when it came to myself.

"Well..." I began. "Maybe a day off wouldn't hurt.". Nami and Robin smiled and Bonnie made a weird excited noise. So we proceeded to get ready for a day in the biggest mall in the city. I felt so girly trying on clothes of Robin's and Nami helping me with my makeup and hair. When I was all done, I just stared at myself in the mirror. At that moment I truly felt pretty. Bonnie came over in her clothes from yesterday and took a good look at me.

"Remember that time in seventh grade when Law, you, and I would go around causing hell across the school?" Bonnie asked.

"Yeah, and how you would avoid getting dress coded like every day," I said.

"And that time when Law pulled all the strings in Kidd's backpack so when he lifted the bag up-"

"Everything fell out of his bag and it went scattering everywhere?" I finished.

"Didn't he have a bag of weed in there?" Bonnie asked.

"Yeah, Law didn't even need to plant it," I said, remembering that a year afterword, I was wrapped in Kidd's arms. 

"What about that time you welded the office door shut?" Bonnie asked.

"And the teacher's lounge," I recalled.

"I'm pretty sure we were the most hated kids in that school," Bonnie claimed.

"Taking a trip down memory lane, you two?" Robin asked as she came over to her mirror we were standing in front of. Robin was wearing all black. Black thigh high boots and a black leather dress that zipped up in the front. A deep purple lipstick and black eyeliner around her eyes. I felt like a totally different person when I stood in front of the mirror but the only difference in me was the make up I did and that Nami did my hair. I had winged black eyeliner and black lipstick that faded into a red. I had smokey eye shadow and I felt like a different being.

"Not a big one, but yeah," I said,

"Alright you three, Time to head out," Nami said.

-X-

We arrived at the biggest mall in the whole state, which ended up being almost thirty minutes away. But a three-story mall with over two hundred stores was well worth it. The floors of the mall were covered in teenagers and college kids. We saw older people here and there but really we didn't interact with a whole lot of them. In one of the first stores we stopped at, Bonnie ditched her shorts for some high waisted ones. She bought three pairs all varying in color.

"About the time I found something different," she said. I got a pair of my own in black.

Although the next store was too girly for me, Nami sure had the time of her life. She had a field day picking out dresses and skirts, even Robin ended up getting something. Bonnie and I just kind of browsed but I just didn't see anything that I wanted. It wasn't until we got into a this Gothic/punk store did I had to show some self-control. I still ended up spending a bunch of money. Bonnie and Robin had a field day too and got a bunch of stuff. I ditched my outfit all together had tossed it. They were worn down as it is and like I said, I needed some new clothes anyway. I ended up getting three pairs of dark ripped up jeans that started from the high down, I got some strapless shirts including one that was a skeleton rib cage printed in it. I got some new regular shirts too. Robin got a bunch of stuff and spent over $100 in that store alone along with Bonnie and I. We headed to the shoe store next and we all had a good time getting new boots and heels. ( I got knee-high gladiator boots and strap up boots with heels, with another pair of combat boots.) It wasn't until I was purchasing a black fur-jacket-thing two stores later did I hear anything from Zoro.

"Where are you?" the text said. It was from Zoro. I was thinking up a reply when Nami's phone went off too.

"Out," I sent.

"Its Luffy," Nami said and my phone went off with a text from Law this time. Robin's phone and Bonnie's phone went off to and I thought it odd that all our phones went off at the same time. We made our way to a cafe in the food court before any of us picked up our phones again. Bonnie and I were cracking jokes and my stomach almost started to hurt from all the laughing I was doing. TO be completely honest, I felt this good in a while.

When we sat down, I noticed that not only did Zoro blow up my phone, but Law did too. Zoro was explaining how pissed Hawkeye was that I didn't show up to practice when Bonnie slammed her phone down and groaned.

"I want Chinese," Bonnie said and it was like someone had opened my eyes to heaven.

"That sounds fucking amazing," I said. Bonnie looked at me and smiled.

"You guys up for some?"Bonnie asked Nami and Robin. Nami and Robin looked at each other and Robin shrugged.

"I'm good. I'm kind of in the mood for Mexican," Nami said, looking back at her phone.

"I believe I would prefer that as well. You two go on ahead." Robin said. That initiated both of us to stand up and we both headed over to the Chinese restaurant in the food court. We grabbed our food and paid for it and were on our way back to our table when I heard a familiar voice call my name. It was from Marco. He was standing around with three other guys, I only recognized one as Thatch, the fourth division commander of the Whitebeards.

"Oh, what are you guys doing here?" I asked and Thatch and Marco walked up to me. Thatch whistled and smiled.

"You sure look different, Scar." Thatch said. Thatch had crazy brown hair that was styled into a pompadour. He liked to wear white jackets and jeans with sandals and was dressed in a similar fashion today. He was also really sweet and the nicest commander the Whitebeards had in my opinion.

"Jewelry," Marco said to Bonnie.

"Pineapple head." Bonnie spat back and she shoved more Chinese food in her mouth.

"You guys here with Ace?" I asked.

"Nah, it's back at the University. In the middle of cleaning up a classroom, he set on fire again. Not on purpose though." Marco said.

"Wait, did you say again?" Bonnie asked.

"Yup, the guy has a knack for it. He's always been a fire hazard," Thatch said.

"Try living with him," Marco and I said in unison. Marco looked at me and I looked at him with a creeped out expression. I forgot that Marco bunked with Ace at the university.

"Anyways, what's with all the makeup?" Marco asked. "I barely recolonized you,".

"A sleepover happened," I said. Bonnie tapped my shoulder and pointed to the table and I nodded getting her message. She left without a word. My phone began to vibrate with endless texts.  
"You? A sleepover? With other females?!" Marco stated shocked.

"What's that suppose to mean?!" I asked defensively. Thatch slowly slid out of the scene with a scared look on his face.

"I mean, you're just so...independent. Sleepovers with a bunch of other girls and bubble baths seemed like a waste of time to you. I just can't see you giggling over a magazine with a bunch of girls." Marco said. There was a long silence before I could think of a rebuttal.

"You realize I was with Bonnie, right?" I asked. Imagining Bonnie giggling over a magazine seemed almost absurd as aliens living on the moon.

"Look, no offense, I mean none at all, but you've changed. You're not so...distant anymore. Like I can ask you ow your day went without you scowling at me suspiciously." Marco said. His tone was calm and easy going but his words were hitting me like a bat. He was right, I had changed. I laugh more and I am way more willing to express my moods rather than closing myself off. Affection was something I didn't puke at or crave secretly. I suddenly felt, older.

"Yeah, I guess you're right. I have changed." I said and gave Marco a chuckling laugh. I suddenly felt so new despite feeling older. It was like the fire inside of me was now roaring with new life yet being older, like it was more powerful. Marco pulled out his phone and pulled it up to his face and I heard a camera click, like a photo, had been taken.

"Delete that." I snapped. I narrowed my eyes him and gave him a death glare.

"No way, you just admitted I was right. I need a memento. It's about as rare as seeing Ace swim." Marco said. I scowled at him and reached or his phone but he dodged. I caught his foot with my foot as he leg moved and swept it from underneath him but he caught himself on the floor and back flipped away from me. I was about to pursue him as I stepped forward but Bonnie came out from behind me and grabbed on to my shoulder.

"Yo, we got to get out of here. Robin's mom just called wondering where Robin is and she is pissed about how we left Robin's house." Bonnie said and began to pull me away and into a American Eagle. Marco went back to his group of buddies and I was dragged to a clearance rack. Bonnie finally let go and looked at me fiercely.

"What? Wheres Robin?" I asked and looked around.

"Still here. Her mom isn't home either. I made it all up so I could get your dumb ass out of fighting Marco of the Whitebeards in the middle of the mall!" Bonnie said. She gave me a confused but pissed look but I know she meant well. It was, after all, just a stupid picture. I explained to Bonnie what happened as we shopped. "He's right you know, you have changed," she said after a while. "You're still stubborn as hell but you are more open,". I picked out a plain white t-shirt with some straps making a star design on the chest. I liked the light and cool material.

"Is that a good thing?" I asked. I decided I wanted the shirt.

"I mean, yeah I think so. It means you're growing as a person and you're finally breaking out of your shell." Bonnie said. I laughed a little under my breath as I saw Robin walk up to us with Nami.

"You guys ready?" Robin asked. I checked my phone, it was already 6 o clock (and I had 10 new messages).

"Yeah, just need to pay for this and we can leave," I said.

"You've spent enough money," Bonnie said. "I'll buy it, just meet me outside in the car.". I opened my mouth to argue but Nami left without complaint and dragged me behind her.

"Fine by me, Scarlet, can you help me with these?" Nami said and gave me some of her bags to carry.

"Do I look like your fucking butler?!" I protested but she dragged me behind her. I ended p carrying the bags and loading them up into the car. Apparently, it was impressive how much I could carry. Bonnie came out running into the car later as I crawled in after her along with everyone else. We left the parking lot before Bonnie admitted to stealing the shirt when I asked for the receipt so I could pay her back. I laughed but was not at all surprised. Nami started to laugh too and high fived Bonnie and lifted up her shirt to reveal all the things she had stolen. I rolled my eyes but smiled and then asked if we could head over to Robins so I could my motorcycle. But Bonnie had other plans.

"Just one last thing," Bonnie said and gave Robin directions to the Black Lily, a tattoo shop in the middle of what I recognized as Amazon Lily territory. We pulled into the parking lot and Bonnie pushed me out of the car and dragged me inside and up to the front desk and rang a bell.

"One second!" a deep voice called and a man appeared from in the shop. "What can I do for you, doll?".

"Just a piercing for me," Bonnie said. Then she turned to me. "You should get something. Nami! Robin? You guys up?". Nami and Robin both declined but I never really thought about getting a piercing before. I kind of liked the idea, and now that I was here, I couldn't see why not.

"What about a lip piercing?" I asked. Bonnie laughed and threw her arm around me.

"There we go! To mark the change in you!" Bonnie said. Bonnie decided to get a septum piercing and I decided on a labret piercing. The guy gave us some paperwork to fill out for our piercing and Bonnie zoomed through it. I looked around the shop as I filled my out. You walk in and the front counter is laid out in front of you. Behind the counter a row a short hallway that's been opened up and a tattoo chairs lined each station, there were four chairs and I only saw three people working. A wide mirror reaching the floor was at the very end like a runway walk. I thought how cool it would be cool to work here instead of a waitress. Finally, I finished the paperwork and it was my turn.

I sat down in the chair when Bonnie was done showing off her piercing.

"Scarlet, this is Thorne. He owns the shop. You're in good hands." Bonnie assured.

"Medusa piercing, correct?" Thorne asked putting on his gloves. Thorne was the man who greeted us at the front and I noticed how his hair was slicked back in a dark and thick mobster style look. He had a small chinstrap beard and was wearing a striped suit. It was like this get was straight out of the 20s.

Right," I said. Thorne pulled at my top lip and started to clean it.

"Must be cool to work in a place like this," I said.

"Sure is, doll. Why? You interested?" Thorne asked. I sat and thought for a moment. Since he had my lip, I nodded. "Well, we are starting apprenticeships soon. Stay still please," he said and a sharp pain went through my top lip. Throne put a stud through the hole and cleaned it. It was plain silver and so simple and pretty. Thorne backed away and I touched the cool metal, and Bonnie led me to the mirror,

"What do you think?" Bonnie asked. I looked at myself in the mirror and I loved it. It was beautiful. It made me feel beautiful. It went perfect with who I was too.

"It's perfect," I breathed. I smiled and Bonnie laughed. Thorne came to me later and gave me aftercare instructions. Which I promised to follow.

"And just in case you were serious about wanting apprentice here," Thorne said and handed me a business card. The Black Lily was written in beautiful script with an address and a phone number below it. "Just give us a call,".


	14. A Tournament's Torment

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Scarlet's new look and confidence shakes the school and her new title of Vice Captian gives her a chance to play a major roll in the upcoming tournament.

Bonnie started staying at my house more often and it was nice having just another female over rather than having males that may or may not be in love with me. We helped treat our new piercings and take pictures of them but decided to keep our new piercings a secret. 

"Just think of what they would do when they see you," Bonnie said over a bowl of baked chicken and noodles. There was a gleam in her eyes and I finally knew why Bonnie wore tight and revealing clothes, why she had piercings. It kind of felt good to be comfortable in your own skin, especially when that skin looked so god damn amazing.

I came back to my new clothes and my makeup and hair were done. I felt like a new person with my star-strapped t-shirt and ripped up jeans with heeled boots. Smokey eyes shadow and winged eyeliner. I colored my lips with a dark red that made my silver piercing stand out even more. I stood shocked in my mirror before going to school that morning and by the looks of everyone else, so were they.

"Hey, Red did you do the-HOLY SHIT." Franky had said coming up to my locker. He was looking down at a stack of papers when he lifted his eyes to look at me he stumbled backward into another locker, shutting it closed. 

"What the fuck?!" huffed a girl with short blue hair.

"Aw, sorry Myukuru," Franky said but Myukuru just growled and tried to reopen her locker.

"Hey, Franky," I said. Franky turned around looked at me up and down. His jaw nearly dropped to the floor.

"What happened to you?" Franky asked and I shut my locker.

"Wouldn't you like to know?" I asked. Franky began to nod his head.

"Yeah." He said almost breathless. "You look good, sis. Let me know if a guy tried to hit on you, I'll knock his lights out.". Franky smirked like he really wanted to knock someone's lights out just because. 

"Okay, big bro," I said and gave a laugh.

"Now about that homework..." Franky began and walked me to class while I explained to him the homework he was asking about. He dropped me off at the door of my English class and jogged away with a mere "See yah". I set my stuff down and haven't even sat down yet when Zoro came in behind me and immediately began to ask me questions on where I was yesterday.

"Scarlet! Coach was pissed! Where were you?" Zoro asked and I turned around to look at him and when I made eye contact with him, he froze. His mouth still open as if to tell me about all the drills Hawkeye made them do. His bag fell out of hand and it hit the ground with a loud thud. He kept staring at me and I began to feel self-conscious until a smirk rose from his lips.

"Well damn," he said and for some reason, I felt like I almost had a heart attack. I felt my cheeks heat up and I didn't understand why.

"I'm assuming you like it then?" I asked.

"Yeah, it suits you," Zoro said and his face began to redden.

"I think he does more than like it, Scar," Law said from two rows up. I kept forgetting he was in my English class.

"And you?" I asked. Law looked at me from the corner of his eye.

"Let's just say you're average tip rate is about to skyrocket in my opinion," Law said and looked away.

"Thanks," I said and sat down at my desk, and class soon began. During the day I got so many reactions from so many different people... I got whistles and random strangers suddenly wanting to talk to me asking if I was new. Franky walked me to class when he could because he claimed he needed help with a school project but I think it was because fewer people approached me when I was with him, which I comforted in. During lunch, Luffy, Chopper, Usopp, and Sanji fell out of their chairs and Sanji began to hit on me even more than usual. Brook wanted to take a bunch of selfies with me. Franky sat next to me instead of Robin and Zoro had been nervous all day around me. I wanted to ask him why but I wanted to ask him when we were alone, which I could never get any real privacy all day so I couldn't ask him.

When it came time for dojo, I was now almost having an anxiety attack. I didn't know how Hawkeye would react to my piecing because he could make me take it out. All the members loved my new look though. They went absolutely wild saying how much they loved it and the minute I walked in I was turning heads. Then Hawkeye came out of his office to do a roll call and he had all of us line up when we were done changing. I squared my shoulders and heard his quiet footsteps walk down the line with his clipboard in one hand and a pen in another. With every passing name, my heart pounded at the sound of Hawkeye's sharp voice. Until it came to my turn.

"Ukama!" Hawkeye yelled.

"Here!" I said clearly and loudly. He looked up from the clipboard to glance at me and then looked down at his clipboard again. In less than a second, his eyes widened and he snapped his head back at me. His cold eyes looking straight at me.

"What's this?" he asked and pointed his pen at my piercing.

"A piercing, sir," I said. My heart was about to pound out of my chest. This wasn't good. Hawkeye gave a deep sigh and looked down back to the clipboard. I saw him scratch something out on it and my heart I swore burst.

"Instead of Ukama then, I should be calling you Boa. Move accordingly in the line.". He glanced back up at me and I swore his eyes softened a little. "Kaze would have liked it," I looked at him in disbelief, my world refusing to sit still. I controlled my face, from the smile and rush of my head but he ruined the moment by hitting me on the top of my head with the clipboard. "But don't you ever skip again. You'll serve punishment later." and he kept walking down the line after giving me one last look.

-X-

One week later:

The time had come for our second tournament and it hung over our heads reminding us we had only a day left. The district was almost too easy but we could have improved in a lot of ways. And so, Hawkeye started working us to the bone, even more than usual, and without mercy. We had been lucky enough to make this far and now that we're going to the state tournament, and if we won we would qualify for nationals. The team had made it to nationals only once before and this year Hawkeye is determined to not only get us there but win them too.

"Yosaku! Your form is all wrong! Twenty push-ups and three laps around the track!" Hawkeye yelled at Yosaku, who was sparing with Johnny.

"Yes, sir!" Yosaku said and dropped to the ground to start doing push-ups. I snuck away to the weight room before Hawkeye saw me as I heard him barking at someone to do bear crawls up and down the football field (we had one of those but the football team was about important as a lacrosse team in the south of the United States). But of course, Law was bench pressing something and Zoro was his spotter. The fact that neither of them had their shirts on unphased me at this point. On work out days, we could wear work out clothes if we wanted to, but the boys took the opportunity to walk around shirtless. I found it better to wear a black tank top and cut off shorts or leggings on days like this. 

"Hows the coach?" Law asked, seeing me walk in. I could feel the sweat drip my back freeze with the a.c. blasting in the weight room. I shivered while walking to the rack of dumbells. 

"He's grinding everyone out there. I swear he's trying to kill us." I said and sat down while picking up a heavy weight in each hand.

"Damn right I will if you don't get your ass in gear, Miss Boa!" Hawkeye called from behind the door. I froze and sat there silently in shock. Even Law and Zoro froze.

"Does he have super hearing or something?" I whispered to them.

"Yes, I do Miss Boa and don't think I have forgotten about your no-show!" Hawkeye called. I groaned as I began to work out my frustration into lifting the weights.

"Alright, Law, switch," Zoro said as soon as Law set the bench press bar back on the holder. Zoro started tacking on weights to the bar and Law got up.

"Dude, you just added like 100 more pounds to the bar," Law pointed out as Zoro sat down on the old, black, leather bench. I watched him as he laid down, stretching out his legs.

"Shut up and spot me so we won't hear Hawkeye bitch again," Zoro grumbled and started to lift the bar. I saw Law roll his eyes but widened his stance to be able to catch the bar when needed. I was still working on my sixty-pound weights when I looked over and watched as Zoro literally started heaving what looked like two hundred and fifty-pound bar over his head.

"What's the weight on that fucking thing?" I asked in bewilderment.

"two seventy-five," Law said rolling his eyes again. My eyes widened. I never met a teenager dare to lift that much and actually have the ability behind it to make it happen. Zoro was well into his set when the entire team barged into the weight room to change into the locker room located behind the weight room. Because for some god awful reason, the only door to the locker room is in the weight room. I continued with my dumbbells but the entire team came in laughing and groaning. But as soon as Zoro made a grunt, the entire team stopped to look at him.

"Practice over then?" Zoro asked and lifted the bar once more.

"Oh yeah, coach said we could leave now, but we have to make sure to get here early for tomorrow," Hatchin said. I stopped pumping the weights and placed them on the rack without hesitation. Zoro was a different story, He kept going and going.

"You guys get out of here. I'll leave when you're all done." Zoro said. Tashigi squeezed her way through the mass of males and stumbled out of them nearly hitting the ground. She caught herself with her knees and looked up me fiercely.

"Girls first then?!" she asked and she reached out her worn hand, and I didn't hesitate to grab her arm. Using my calf muscles, I pulled her up and propelled us into the locker rooms. Tashigi locked the door behind us and I threw off my shirt and began to stumble over to showers while trying to take off my leggings.

"Good call, I do not want to use the showers after sweaty hormonal guys use them," I said. Even though I hate Tashigi's fucking guts, we did get along on two things: one being that it's hard being a female swordsman because we are faced with discrimination, and two was that if the both of us teamed up we could get the showers first. We were the only girls on the team but my title as vice-captain and her brashness can get us places.

"You should have been here when it was only me on the team. I had to wait until everyone was done and they would play around so I would be waiting for at least an hour," Tashigi said as we both got into our own individual showers.

"So sitting in your own sweat for over an hour?" I asked an turned on the water in mine.

"Yeah, it was so gross," she said and I heard her shower turn on.

"That's bullshit! I really wish this building has two locker rooms," I said and began to wash off the sweat. I also did some piercing cleaning.

"I've been saying that this entire time, but since they're reusing this building it was pretty much a one gender thing," she explained. As we showered we both ranted about the injustice of how almost no females were in dojo.

"The track team and the swim team get separate locker rooms but as soon as coach asked for a least a fucking wall to separate us he got shot down!" Tashigi barked.

"Woe! I think that's the first time I heard you curse!" I commented.

"Shut it, this topic just riles me up," she said. I laughed, quickly trying to finish my shower. Once I crawled out of the warm spray of water, I jumped to my locker trying not to freeze. I quickly put on the spare clothes that I packed and put the sweaty ones in my bag to wash later. I pulled over the giant grey hoodie over my head and the softness that brushed my skin. Slipping on new jeans and socks. I pulled my shoes back on. Tashigi got finished changing around the same time I did and we walked out of the locker room together. I noticed how Zoro was still at it with his bench press and Tashigi made a face that could spit poison. Her eyebrows furrowed together and her relaxed grin turned in a growl. 

"Show of," she grumbled and left the weight room. The rest of the guys ran into the locker room, leaving just me, Law and Zoro. I walked up to Zoro and stood over him next to Law.

"You go and take a shower. I'll spot," I said, sighing. 

"Fucking finally, see you around," Law said and jogged to the shower room. I turned my attention back to Zoro.

"Go take a shower, you smell gross," I said.

"That's the sweat," Zoro said. I rolled my eyes and he kept lifting the bar.

"You should save your energy for tomorrow. I know your bones are screaming," I said.

"Stop trying to to make me stop. I will stop when I want to," Zoro said. I leaned over him completely to stop the bar from going any further up. I stared him straight in the eye and his face began to redden even more than it already was.

"If I let you do that, your back would break and then I would have to stand in as captain at the tournament," I said. I grabbed the bar with both hands and pulled it up with Zoro still hanging on to it. I set it in the holder but Zoro still wouldn't let go.

"I said that I had this," Zoro said. I placed my hands over Zoro's and leaned over the bar again.

"And I said to stop. I won't let you lift another set," I said and pushed my entire body weight onto the bar. I felt The warmth of Zoro's hands it was very surprising to me how warm he was. It was probably because of him working out. Zoro's chest rose and fell as he looked at me as if he couldn't get a good breath. Then I felt his grip tighten on the bar and watched as he outstretched his arms and I felt him push up on the bar. Then I could no longer touch the ground with my feet. I panicked a little and Zoro had a smirk on his face. He pulled down and I came with the bar, my feet touching again once more only to be lifted back into the air. "ZORO PUT ME THE FUCK DOWN!".

"Oh so now I can continue?" Zoro said trembling.

"HELL NO!" I said and lurched forward, causing my body weight to shift. The bar slammed back down the holder but what I hadn't expected was that I lost my balance and my entire body flipped over the bar. Zoro froze and I landed on him with full force on my back. Zoro gasped and started to cough. I rolled off of him and dragged him off to weight bench to a wooden one close to us. "Shit, shit, shit. I am so sorry." I said. Zoro coughed again and his eyes began to water.

"You just knocked the air out of my lungs," he wheezed.

"Maybe you should think about that next time you try to show off," Law said from the doorway of the locker room.

"The fuck you talking about?" Zoro coughed out.

"I came back to get something out of my bag that I left in here and here you were showing off to our dear vice-captain," Law said and picked up his bag.

"I wasn't showing off, moron," Zoro said, beginning to regain the air in his lungs. "I've been 250 for the past two months,".

"Surrrrreee, Nice save, Scarlet. Don't let this moss for brains fool you," Law said and went back into the locker room without another word. 

-X-

That night I barely got any sleep. My brain was wired with the events that had happened. Now that I look back, Zoro was definitely showing off. He was able to pull me up along with a 275 lb bar! I had no idea how much I weighed but I was well over a hundred pounds. But one of the questions that kept me up was why. Why did Zoro show off? And to ME (supposedly). It wasn't like I didn't think of Zoro as already impressive. I see this guy everyday beating down everything in his path and then lifts weights as if they themselves were weightless. And for the past week, I thought he had a cold because his face would always get red. I didn't understand why. I highly doubted that he liked me but everything he has done has added up to it. I was trying to wrap my head around it all. I didn't understand. I couldn't understand. How could Zoro, the strong green-haired punk swordsman, like me? Yeah sure we hung out a lot but I just couldn't see it. I got so frustrated I even called Bonnie for help, but she gave me an 'I don't fucking know! It's not like I know the guy!" and hung up after telling me her little brothers just got into the ice cream and were making a mess. I ended up collapsing into my bed and screaming into my pillow until eventually, I passed out.

We left at two the next day with the entire school waving us off while we drove away on the bus. It was a city bus the school had rented and I was partially surprised the heating worked. It was going to be a long trip and I was glad I brought a blanket and pillow. I quickly went to to the back of the bus to take a seat but Zoro was already sitting there. I looked around and the seats were starting to fill up fast so I took my chances with the maybe awkwardness and sat next to him.

"Eight hours right?" I asked and I unfolded my blanket.

"Twenty bucks say a fight is going to freak out before, three hours," Zoro bets. I saw the gleam in eyes sparkle and it brought a smile to my lips. 

"You're fucking on. I say two hours before Hawkeye yells at someone." I said.

"You're on," Zoro said and pulled out a pillow with a green pillowcase out of his bag. He placed it against the cold window and laid his head down on it. It wasn't long until I could hear him snore softly. I plugged in my music and The Neighborhood took away the silence of our seat on my phone, Soon, as I was wrapped up in my blanket, I began to doze off too.

It wasn't long until I felt being shaken awake.

"Scarlet, hey, Scarlet, wake up." a voice said. My eyes began to slowly open and I was looking at Law, who was facing towards me and sitting backward in his seat.

"What is it Law?" I slurred. I looked to my right as if to put my head back where it was, but when my head actually hit something solid, my eyes shot open. I looked up and Zoro's face was inches from mine. His face was a beet red. I shot back away from him and I felt the heat rise to my cheeks. I looked around and everyone was at the front breaking up a fight. "You should probably break that up,"

"Jesus Christ," I said. "Why are you making me do it? And where is Hawkeye?" Law shrugged.

"I was going to get Zoro to do it because no one really listens to me but he couldn't move because of you sleeping on his shoulder," Law said. "And if he would be to wake you up, you'd wouldn't bitchy enough to break up the fight and so here we are." I got up and starred down Law.

"We'll discuss this later," I said and marched up front. "THE FUCK DO YOU THINK YOU'RE DOING?" The fight was between Johnny and Yosaku to my surprise. They normally got along so well. In fact, when we had a double fight in the tournament they were our duo to go to. Yosaku hit Johnny square in the jaw and I propelled myself. I heard Zoro yell something and get up and Law just sat there. I grabbed Yosaku's collar and slammed him to the window and Zoro held back Johnny from hitting back. No one else did anything, just egged on the fight.

"WHAT THE HELL IS GOING ON HERE?" someone yelled. We all froze. "I leave for not even five minutes and there's already a fight?! Explain yourselves." It was Hawkeye, he had stepped onto the bus and was starring all of us down. He blinked for just a moment and looked at Zoro. "Why don't you try a hand at it, Captain?".

"Johnny and Yosaku were fighting and the vice-captain came in after Yosaku punched Johnny. She now has Yosaku pinned to the window and I am holding Johnny back." Zoro said without a beat.

"I can see that but do you know what started the fight?" Hawkeye asked.

"No, sir," Zoro said hesitantly. Hawkeye sighed.

"I'm not even going to ask. Johnny, you and Yosaku are sitting out for the tournament for the time being. We'll discuss this further afterword. Now release them, you two," Hawkeye said and turned away to sit down at the driver's seat. 

"But who will be our duo team for the double matches?" Johnny asked.

"Enough! The Captain and Vice Captain will pick up your slack. Is that understood?" Hawkeye said looking over his shoulder.

"Understood," Zoro said and I was biting my tongue at the unfairness of it all. He should at least find out what they were fighting about before sentencing a punishment like that.

"Then back to your seats," Hawkeye said and started the bus up again.


	15. Shattered Reflections and Perceptions

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tired and hungry, the dojo team sits at waffle house before the tournament.

The next day, the bus rolled into the parking lot early. I didn't even know we had arrived until it was Zoro shaking me awake.

"Come on, Scar. We're here." Zoro said groggily like he just woke up in my ear. I opened my eyes to the bright 6 am sun lighting up the bus. I looked up again and I realized Zoro was inches from my face again. I must have fallen asleep on his shoulder again. And for a moment, I didn't want to pull away. I was so comfortable and warm.

"Hmm, do I really want to round up the team and deal with them and make sure they don't back talk the other teams and fight them off the mats? Am I really in the mood for that?" I asked myself out loud. Zoro laughed and I could feel his voice vibrate his body.

"Believe me, I don't want to either," Zoro said but showed no signs of wanting to move. I yawned and sat up. I brushed my hair behind my ear that covered the front of my face and I just looked at Zoro, it flopped back down. I tried blowing it out of the way but it would just come back. When it flopped down back on my face Zoro laughed and I groaned.

"It's too early for this shit," I said.

"ALL RIGHT ALL OF YOU LETS GET GOING!" Hawkeye yelled from the front of the bus and blew an air horn. It scared the living shit out of me and groans began to emerge from the throats of many tired teammates. We had arrived at the hotel the night before around ten o clock but everyone wanted to run around the hotel doing stupid shit until two am. However, we had to wake up at five thirty in the morning so we can make it to the arena at six in the morning. 

After checking in at the tournament and eating at a nearby Waffle House, the team gathered around the couch for the lineup. I had ordered three coffee espresso coffees and I pounded them back like they were my favorite vodka. The waitress came back and refilled mine without hesitation. 

"Dojo will be the death of me," I whispered to my table, finishing another cup. Zoro, Law, Tashigi, and I all sat at the same booth. 

"I'll clink to that," Law said and raised his coffee cup. Zoro silently pulled his cup into the clink while his head still down on the table. There was a finishing clink and we retreated our cups back to our lips. At this early in the morning, each of threw on whatever we found laying on the ground. Tashigi had her glasses on the table as she hugged a mug full of cheap coffee with three sugars and three creamers. The purple bags under eyes matched my own from having to play mom all night to a rowdy bunch of guys. When the coach passed out last night, we set out to the nearby town and had to chase down guys hiding in Dollar General shopping carts. I had on an oversized blue hoodie and black leggings but Tashigi looked better in a plain white hoodie and black leggings with white shoes. 

"Know what you guys want?" I asked, looking at Zoro specifically. Zoro balanced his head on his chin with his eyes still closed. Zoro had on a black t-shirt with the Hulk on it and black basketball shorts with a cloth jacket thrown over his shoulders.

"Everything," he said and slammed his head back down. The waitress that never left just looked at Zoro with a confused look. 

"Two all-star breakfasts for him, just a waffle for me, and biscuits and gravy for her, oh and just a pile of sausages and fried eggs for him," I said, pointing at Law. The waitress smiled and walked away.

"How did you know??" Tashigi asked, looking deeply confused, sipping another cup of coffee. 

"Thank god you remembered I hated bread," Law said and sipped his coffee again. Law decided to leave the hotel wearing worn jeans and a baggy long sleeved t-shirt. He even had on his slim framed glasses that he only wore when he was being extremely lazy. 

"Thank you," Zoro grumbled, his head still on the table. 

"I've seen Zoro eat an entire plate of diabetes, Law hates bread but can eat meat and eggs, and you like your food simple and not too greasy," I said simply and shrugged while taking another sip of coffee. Law's gauges even looked low effort somehow.

"Do you remember Bonnie's favorite?" Law asked as if to give me a challenge.

"The all-star breakfast with extra everything," I said without a beat. 

"What about Kidd's?" Law said smirking, and I felt my entire face drop, along with my mood. 

"We don't say his name," I spat bluntly. 

"Well, I would watch out because he knows for a fact you're single so he'll probably come around to make trouble," Law informed me while sighing. I groaned and leaned back into the booth.

"Wait, what?! Are you talking about Euyestus Kidd?" Tashigi asked, concerned.

"Oh yeah, you don't know about that," I said barely audible. 

"They used to be a thing, like what, freshman year?" Law said quizzically. 

"The worst mistake of my life, and that's saying something," I groaned at just the thought of it all. I was still leaned back into the booth when the waitress came back to give us our food. She set all the plates down carefully but efficiently, laying them all out for us and refilling our coffee. We all muttered a thank you before the left, but since our team had filled up her entire side of service, she had to leave quickly to get more plates. 

-X-

"Alright, looks like it's a bracket line up and we start off with four fights, then it will thin out from there until two are left, the duo round. The last match will be a one on one with the final school. And it looks like they're about maybe 50 schools here. We're our district's champions. We win this, and we're going to nationals this summer." Hawkeye explained.

"So four rounds per school, five with the last school," I said.

"Exactly, Miss Boa. They'll provide lunch and the tournament should end at about four or five." Hawkeye said. "If I were all of you, I would head to the training room until it's time for the first match at eight.".

We took it as more of an order than a suggestion. We walked into their weight rooms, and I was impressed at how everything was so high tech. And everything was clean too. We never clean unless it's punishment. The entire team changed into black tracksuits with white trim that said Grand Line High School on them with our mascot, a sea lion. Other schools started to stare at us. Some would glare and others would smirk. We didn't speak to anyone though, and no one came to talk to us. It was only an hour until we were scheduled to fight our first round.  
-X-

We brought on a war. There were screaming and cheering. We had only one more team to beat before we became national champions. I looked around for Zoro but only caught a glimpse of his sweaty spiky green hair open the door to the locker room and disappear behind it. Something in my gut had told me that something wasn't right. Normally, even though he liked to keep to himself, he would celebrate with us. Insistently, I pushed through the crowd and followed Zoro through the door. The lights in the locker room were low and flickering slightly and the room was empty at first glance. I walked further in and saw Zoro starring at himself in the mirror with the arms of his robe tied around his waist. His hands were on the sink and he was leaning into it. I saw his back rise and fall from his ragged breath and the sweat that glistened of his skin in the lighting. He was looking down and he rose his head. His face was frustrated but somber, he quickly changed to an emotionless cover when he saw me standing behind him in the mirror. There was no victory in his face, on defeat. It was so quiet in the locker room that I could still hear the crowds jeering outside the stone walls. The only sound the room gave were slow drops of water landing on the ground from the showers, puncturing the sound between us.

"Hey," I said. 

"Hey," he said and never took his eyes off me. I wanted to reach my hand to his face and graze my thumb across his missing eye from the way his facial expression changed when he saw me. 

"Feeling okay?" I asked. Zoro looked a little surprised. 

"Uh, yeah yeah, I'm fine," he said and put his hand behind his neck, then tried to roll his neck. But his focus remained in me. 

"Bullshit," I said. I stepped up to Zoro. His face was a mess. He has blood smeared on his chin from where he wiped away the blood he had coughed up earlier in our double fight. The side of his temple was bleeding and his hair around it was clumped together with blood. The bottom of his chin was bruised too. I reached my hand out with an open palm at his shoulder that connects to his chest, where he'd been hit the hardest. Zoro winced.

"See? You can't fool me, anymore." I said. Zoro still kept his gaze on me. 

"I'm fine, Scarlet. You don't need to worry about me," he said like each word was a drop of water connecting onto a surface. 

"Bullshit, it's too late for that, and besides, you don't look too victorious," I said. This time, Zoro looked away and I let go of his shoulder. Zoro dropped his arm from his neck and pushed off the sink. "You don't think you've won, don't you?" I said. Zoro looked at me again through the mirror and shook his head, then looked away again. 

"I'm too weak if I have trouble like that again..." Zoro trialed off. It was like his words came out like a gasp then ended in a whisper. The statement nearly took the breath out of me. Zoro was strong. Zoro was stubborn, Zoro was patient, and at least to me, kind. Zoro was the very thing that was the opposite of weak. Strong-will, strong mind, strong body, strong tone, Strong. 

"Zoro, look at me," I said. Zoro turned around to looked at me, I stepped closer so that we were barely an inch apart. "You are the strongest and most capable person I know. And that's saying something considering who I used to live with and my family tree." I said and poked at his chest, which was hard, weird. "Not only that but you're the furthest thing or man from weak. If you have one weakness, it's booze. And it's safe to say that you'll probably stronger than I am,". Zoro's eyebrows itched together and Zoro shook his head. 

"Then you haven't looked in the mirror," he said. I had never seen Zoro like this before, so having no idea what he meant, I grabbed his arm and dragged him to the nearest bench. I forced him to sit down and wait. I went to open the door to the locker room but the entire team stood outside the door. 

"LAW!" I called and he appeared at my side almost instantly. I took his wrist and pulled him in the locker room. The entire team came in after us and glanced between me and Zoro. They seemed scared. Law leaned in to whisper me something.

"I told them you two were in a vicious argument about getting his face stitched up. Hatchin played along saying you were the only one who could convince him,". I looked around at the team and it did seem to make sense, no one really approached us. Honestly, I didn't know how Law does it sometimes, but he did know how to keep people away. It was kind of a personal moment. 

"Thanks," I whispered back. Law then went to his locker and got out his med kit. Zoro hated getting any kind of medical attention so it was either Chopper or Law stitching his ass up. And of two the two that he would let come near him with medical supplies, he preferred Chopper, but he even gave Chopper shit too. 

We ended up getting an hour break again while more schools competing. After Law stitched up Zoro, he knocked right out. He fell asleep right on the bench and we all just kind of let him sleep there. Zoro got tossed around in the last match, I did too but Zoro came in took some hits for me while I played offense and took our opponents down. I didn't exactly like the idea but Hawkeye said it would be the best course of action against the other duo. And I think we trust the guy a little too much. Of course, we had the option to not listen because being Vice Captain and Captain you get that privilege. 

"Hey Scar, Hawkeye wants to talk to yah," Law said snapping my train of thought off the rails. I just got finished refilling my water bottle by the water fountain in the locker room. 

"Oh, shit that can't be good. Where is he?" I asked. Law was standing over me, rubbing his eyes with his fingers as he sighed. 

"The lobby next to us. Just go through that door over there." Law said and pointed to a doorway behind him. 

"Thanks, man," I said and nudged him with my elbow. 

"Good luck," Law sighed. The door he was talking about was in the corner of the room next to some more lockers. I passed through it and the room behind the door looked like a waiting room with chairs and tables everywhere. There were other coaches there too but Hawkeye was sitting in the corner alone with a binder and a hot cup of something. I walked over to him taking the precaution of the other coaches around.

"Coach? Law said you needed to talk to me?" I asked. He looked at me in the corner of his eyes and looked back to what he was reading.

"Take a seat Miss Boa. I just wanted to talk to you about your performance during your last match," I said. My heart pounded in my chest as I took a seat across from him.

"What about it?" I asked with worry shooting through me. 

"Overall you performed very well. You and Zoro seem to be pretty well in sync. But what was my main concern was that it was like you two never wanted for the other one to feel pain." Hawkeye said, still looking down at his binder. He gestured with his hot mug to take the seat across from him and I sat down in in the cushioned chair without question. 

"What do you mean, sir?" I asked.

"I mean you two are so caught up in each other that you barley notice yourselves. Which is a very bad thing." Hawkeye said cutting his eyes. I opened my mouth to speak but Hawkeye held up an open palm. He wasn't done. "Although I don't know the exact nature of your relationship, I believe it's starting to become more and more, romantic, correct?" 

"WHAT?! NO! NO! NO! Coach, no! Just friends, I swear. Nothing more." I said. Hawkeye raised an eyebrow.

"A shame really, but honestly I'm not surprised because Mr. Roranoa has no idea how to even speak to a girl, especially one as ferocious as you," Hawkeye said. I almost started choking on air. "But that's not my main concern right now. My main concern, Miss Boa, is your father.".

"Fuck," I said without meaning to. Hawkeye raised his eyebrow a little but he was holding back laughter.

"Fuck indeed. I broke a lot of rules getting you into this team, and you earned the title of vice-captain, but I'm afraid he's going to find us out soon," Hawkeye said. I took a deep breath, in and out.

"Coach, during my time on the team, I have learned a lot of things. And taking shit from that man has never been something I looked forward to since the mere mention of him makes my blood boil. But if somehow he does find out about my time on the team, I'll take the heat. You probably let me on as a favor to my mom anyway," I said. Then Hawkeye did something I would never think he would do and chuckle. I was shocked he showed emotion that was positive. 

"I never signed you as a favor to your mother, Miss Boa. It was because you were her daughter that I knew you were powerful. You go toe to toe with people twice your size and you still come out on top. And you do it your way, I admit you're a carbon copy of your mother but personally you are this chaotic person that keeps all the boys in check without losing her own mind. Before you, I went home nearly every day with a migraine. But that isn't my point here, my point is that I have a part in this too. And I won't lose one of my best assets because her father is throwing a tantrum.". It felt like someone fired a bullet in the air, a tantrum? Hawkeye merely sipped at his mug as if he didn't just say something that could earn a bullet in the head. 

"Now, go in there and wake the captain, we have a tournament to win, Miss Boa."


	16. Bloody Mirrors

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In the bathroom and work, Scarlet has to defend herself and take a look at her bloody reflection.

I felt the muscles in my jaw stretch out into a yawn as I rubbed my face with my worn hands. My eyes began to water and my stomach started to growl at the smell of the kitchen at work. 

"Fucking amen," Sanji said while chopping up some carrots, getting ready to saute them and then add them into some chicken dish. I was already standing by him when he opened his own mouth to yawn.

"I feel like today has dragged on and on," I said, lightly smacking my face to keep me awake. Sanji laughed and flipped over the chicken cooking on the stove. 

"You've noticed that too? I thought it was just me by the way everyone was running around today, here and at school," Sanji commented but kept his eyes on the food. I leaned against the counter and tried to quite my stomach, but Sanji knew it was growling of course. He raised his eyebrow at me and his blue eyes sparkled.

"What's that look for, curly brow?" I asked suspiciously. Sanji smiled weakly and turned back to his cooking.

"What do you normally do for food, like do you cook? I know you live on your own and all and was just curious." Sanji asked. I blinked trying to put together an answer for him, but of course, the pervert smiled about cooking. 

"I do cook actually, but I am horrible with eggs or pancakes or waffles, just any breakfast food. I usually made Ace do that," I said nonchalantly. 

"So you cook more dinner based foods, right?" Sanji asked and pointed at the sink for me. The twinkle in his eyes was asking me to wash my hands and join him. I mosied over the sink and didn't complain, it was a weekday and we were slower during the week. After I finished washing my hands, I rolled up my sleeves and started to help shop carrots. "What would you normally cook for dinner?"

"It would depend on the night, but mostly chicken. Sometimes I can get fish if I go on the farmer's market and Ace is with me. The fishermen there know him and we can get some fresh stuff," I explained slowly chopping each carrot.

"Okay, but what do you do with the chicken or fish? And what about if you were to cook red meat?" Sanji asked, very intrigued. 

"Well, I would cook in a skillet adding half and half, lemon juice, and garlic when I'm a little lazy. Steam some broccoli with it and call it good. I also do a chicken bake and add spaghetti noodles boiled in a bunch of spices and olive oil, water, and salt. I cut up the fish and dunk it in spices and pan fry it or sometimes make sushi. As for red meat goes, I typically season hamburger meat and make hamburger helper or tacos. When it's cold I'll make a roast and eat on that for a couple of days. I don't really eat pork but I'll cut it up and make pork cutlet. Oh, and a lot of rice, I eat a lot of rice," I explained. Sanji's face kept a smile and I could tell he really enjoyed talking to me. 

"Who taught you how to cook? And why don't you eat more red meat or steak?" Sanji popped off with. It seemed like every answer I gave him he would have just had more questions.

"Mostly the internet, and watching people cook while asking questions. There was a lesbian couple across from me for a while who taught me some stuff too. And I don't eat steak because it's expensive," I answered and gave Sanji my finished carrots and poured them into the skillet with the almost finished chicken.

"Well, it really depends on what cut of meat you get from the cow and how the cow was in health and how it was raised. It also depends on where you purchase the meat. Now the meat itself if thick enough..." and Sanji continued to lecture me on cuts of meat and the many different ways you could prepare and cook them. He talked about cooking for two hours with me sliding in and out to deliver orders to customer's downstairs only to return and hear Sanji pick up where he left off. I couldn't tell him that he had been talking for two hours because his entire face would light up and he looked so innocent and hopeful when he was talking about cooking. When he seemed to be finished we were both handed plates table numbers and told to get our asses on the floor. Sanji looked disappointed but hid it quickly with a stern face. He left in a blaze causing the doors to still swing together in a daze. I followed behind him without complaint and headed back down the spiral staircase, hearing the clanking of my feet against the metal.

-X-

He was a creepy ass old man who wore rings on every finger and had a balding scalp of thin blackish hair turning grey. He was a regular and I often had to be the one who brought his food. I never even wanted to know his name but he knew mine and said it every time he could. Flicking his tongue at the 'l' sound and moving his mouth so that I could him pronounce my name like it was fancy. It creeped me out and everything about this old man made me irritated and leaving everything that was real and true about me on fire. The rest was an act of politeness, customer service voice as they say. Sanji told me to let me know every time the man messed with me, but I didn't necessarily have to because he would be right behind me the whole night doing the same thing I was doing, taking orders and delivering them. But every time customers would pull something, Sanji wasn't around.

But tonight was different. Tonight, this customer, followed me into the bathroom while on my break. My feet were aching and they reminded me of the weight of lead, when I sat down, my feet felt blessed and I waited there for a couple of minutes, even after I heard someone come in. I figured it was a female customer but when I walked out of the stall after I was done, about to wash my hands, I heard the door lock. The customer stood there with a greedy grin plastered across his mouth. He had short and fat stature and a balding head, with jewels on each finger. It was like straight out of a movie and immediately I knew I couldn't much, but I rather go to jail than have this man touch me one more time. The man moved fast but what I needed was someone's attention, if I screamed, someone would come and I would have a witness. I let all the air out of my lungs and screamed as loud as I could. Sanji would hear me, the guy had super hearing, even in that loud kitchen. Or at least someone had to hear me. The man put his hand over my mouth and grabbed my shirt, ripping off a section leaving my white bra exposed. I bit down as I could, and drew blood. The man held his grip over my mouth and I kicked upwards to his balls then swiftly kicked his legs out from under him, while ripping out his hand with my teeth. The man harrowed but reached for my pants from on the floor. I grabbed his head while he was still screaming and I started to bash it into the sink's counter. I heard someone trying to kick down the door. Sanji. But I didn't care that he was right outside the door. I lost control and got so angry that I couldn't stop bashing the man's head in. Two more kicks from Sanji and the door was knocked down.

"SCARLET! STOP!" Sanji said and came in and grabbed me from behind and made me let go of the man. The man was nearly unconscious and was bleeding everywhere. I definitely broke his nose. And teeth littered the floor. Blood was all over the mirror and when I looked into it, I just saw myself covered in blood.

"S-she...tried....t-to rob...me.." the man said before passing out. Zeff was right behind Sanji along with Patty, armed with pans and rolling pins. Sanji wouldn't let go of me and I struggled to get out of his grip. "Scarlet, Scarlet, it's okay." he kept saying trying to calm me down but I was furious. My heart was pounding out of my chest and all I saw was blood.

"What happened here?!" Zeff demanded, his voice making the room still. Patty backed away and pulled out his cell phone.

"I'll the restaurant cleared out then," Patty said and left to go went upstairs.

"I think he tried to rape her, but he says she tried to rob him," Sanji said still holding me back.

"In the woman's bathroom?" Zeff said questionably. I kept snarling and trying to get out of Sanji's arms.

"Yeah but she won't calm the hell down," Sanji explained. "Patty gonna call the cops?".

"We have to, he's clearing everyone out now," Zeff said and stood a good distance from me. "Let her go, boy, a touch from a man is the last thing she needs,".

"Hey old man I'm trying to keep her from another battery charge," Sanji said. "Scarlet, hey, it's me. You're safe, we won't let anything happen to you. So breathe, in and out,". I started to calm down and breathe evenly. Sanji waited five minutes before letting me go. And that's how long it took for the cops to show up. Patty and the other employees got everyone out of the restaurant. 

"Hey, Scarlet, why don't you come out here and we can get you some cake while the officer asks you some questions? She seems very nice," Patty said to me as he approached me carefully. I turned my eyes away from the unconscious body of the old man and left the bathroom with Patty and Sanji. They sat me down at a table towards the back of the restaurant and turned me away from the door. Patty put a blanket around my shoulders and smiled meekly as if trying to cheer me up. Sanji came back with a piece of chocolate ganache cake with three cherries on top of it. Sanji then took a seat next to me and never took his eyes off of me. Zeff and Patty also took a seat and wouldn't leave when the officer asked them too. Sanji held out his hand and I took it, for once, I didn't want Sanji to leave. Zeff and Patty looked at us and Sanji gave them a nod like he was going to stay with me and that they can handle the aftermath. The officer gave up on asking Sanji to leave and I tried to answer her questions the best I could but I was so disoriented. The man was taken away to the hospital and I hear the ambulance take him away in a hurry. I couldn't see any of it being turned away from the door. When the officer was done, she shook her head and looked at me with a sorry look.

"I'll like to see what this old shit will come up with to try and save his ass, thank you for your time, Miss. Would you like a ride home?" she offered. I think the woman was Tashigi's mom, she looked a lot like her and I think I met her once before at a tournament.

"No thanks, I think I'll be fine," I said. The officer chuckled a little, but concern laced her eyes.

"After seeing that man on a stretcher to the hospital, I have to say I believe it, call if you need anything then. I hope you at least try and have a good night, even after all of this," she said before leaving. After five or ten minutes of me just sitting there, the guys finally approached me.

"So ah, how are you feeling?" Patty asked and played with his hands. I understood that he was just checking up on me.

"Like I need a cigarette, and a drink wouldn't hurt," I said. Patty nodded and shrugged.

"Yeah, yeah I can understand that," he said. Sanji came up and held up a pack of cigarettes,

"Outside, I'll walk you out. Even I can't have a decent smoke inside now." Sanji said. See, what did I tell you? Super hearing. I followed him outside and looked around, it was around 10 at night and the sun had gone down long ago, leaving the parking lot dark and the sound of the waves apparent. I got on my bike and Sanji handed me a cigarette and lit it for me. We stood there letting cancer infect us as the waves crashed into one another. On his second cig, he finally spoke.

"I and the old man were talking, and I just want you to know that we understand if you don't want to work here anymore," Sanji said. I sat there in thought, it almost seemed too good to be true.

"I have given it some thought," I said. Sanji laughed. His breath came out of the air along with the smoke. It was really cold out tonight.

"Some thought my ass, we all think it over a lot every time we enter this goddamn place," he said. I couldn't help but laugh, he was right.

"Yeah, you have a point there," I said and pulled my hair down, letting the wind weave through it.

"But just know, that you are one of the most powerful and terrifying woman I have ever met. I'm complete series when I say most girls at our school, much less the world, could not have fucked up that man as much as you did tonight. Even the old fart in charge said that out of all women he knew, you were the best female employee he could have asked for." Sanji said.

"Aww, the old geezer said that all about me? How nice," I said and breathed in my cigarette and let the warmth fill my body.

"I know right? Not every day you hear something nice come out of his mouth," he said and put out his second cigarette. "But with all honesty, we both know that that customer is awaiting another ass beating if he comes back to the restaurant. Zeff isn't even against it, he said to get that fucker out by any means necessary." I laughed at that one.

"I bet you almost can't wait," I said, still leaning over on my bike feeling the last drops of chemicals breath through me. 

"Oh I almost did it in the bathroom but I could tell you had it very well taken care of. It's good to know we got a badass as the vice-captain of the dojo team. I understand now how you keep fucking moss head and the rest of them in check. Damn." Sanji said in a shocked voice and shook his head.

"Thanks, Blackleg, you're too kind," I said and I shook my head. We stood there for a moment and pulled out a flask from his suit jacket and opened it, took a drink and passed it to me.

"What are you going to do next?" he asked. I drank the insides, which ended up being a hard whiskey.

"No idea," I said and drank. I passed it back.

"I honestly can't see how you're so calm about this," Sanji said and took a drink. "You got to pay for everything, food, phone, bike, literally everything but school and rent. Without a job, you'll starve." he sounded somber. I looked up and his blue eyes kind of had a sad shine to it. But they looked so empty and cold.

"Look, Sanji, I appreciate your concern but I'll be fine," I said and took a drink from his flask. It was warm.

"Not according to moss head," he said and sharp anger flamed up inside me. Did that green haired moron honestly think I couldn't take care of myself? After all this time?! "Relax, he's just worried about you. I know you two hang out a lot, honestly, I don't even know what you see in him, but he's worried you'll run yourself into the ground. Honestly, we all are." he explained. He must have seen my facial expression. He took another swing of the flask and closed it.

"What? You guys think I can't care of myself?" I asked, still super pissed.

"No, I think it's the complete opposite of that. He says you're the strongest woman he's ever met. And coming from him, that's saying something," Sanji replied. He gave a nonchalant look and cocked his head. Then tried to pop it. "Why don't you wait ten minutes and I'll give you a ride home. I can hitch the motorcycle in the back somewhere."

"No thanks, I'm fine," I said.

"I know you are, but I sorta feel sorry for the fuckers coming across your path. Just don't leave a trail of blood, alright?" he said and slowly began to walk away after tucking his flask back into his suit jacket.

I guess it was time to give Black Lily a call.


	17. Black Lilies, White Roses, Red Thorns

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Coping with what happened, Scarlet is granted alone time during dojo and finds herself arguing with Zoro afterwords.

"Then you haven't look in the mirror,". Zoro's word rang through my head even a couple of days after we won the tournament. What had Zoro meant when he said that? I thought to myself. Even after standing outside the tattoo shop, it still hangs in my head. Sometimes when I'm doing something not even remotely close to that conversation, it just barges in my head and stays there like an infestation. I had called the tattoo shop two days after quitting the restaurant. Thorne just said to come in the week after and we could get through the basics. And Sanji came over three times a day with food made from the restaurant. Notes were left on the take out boxes that Sanji left at my doorstep along with a cigarette. Courtesy of the staff. Sanji would shoot me test saying the drop off was made, and I would argue with him saying he didn't have to. He said I was lucky I was a woman because if I didn't eat and I was a man, he'd kick my ass and left it at that. 

The police came by again with follow up questions. I was right it turns out, the officer who questioned me that night was, in fact, Tashigi's mom. Because she and her mom came over and Tashigi gave me a high five saying nice job on kicking that guy's ass. I told her it was no trouble. Then she made tea and her mom questioned me again, saying that the man said I lured him to the bathroom, beat him and tried to take his wallet and a gold tooth. But Sanji and Zeff, and Patty, as well as the entire staff and a lot of the customers all said they heard me scream and that the guy was harassing me for a while. 

"Well, he'll at least get 12 years then I can tell you that. The case is already in process, the court will be in about three weeks. You'll win for sure." the officer said.

"Wait, what? Court?" I said.

"Yes, unfortunately, he's testifying against you even though he has no leads," she said. 

"Shit, I can't pay for a lawyer, and if my father finds out about this..." I said.

"No worries, the court proceeding is totally private since you're a juvenile and I already got our best public attorney for you, it will be a piece of cake." the officer said.

"Okay then," I said and they left shortly after. I sat there for a while watching TV and Zoro's words came back into my head. We had won the tournament easy and nationals was open for us. It was one of those things that happen, everyone celebrates for two days and then Hawkeyes slams us back down and makes us work harder. Johnny and Yosaku eventually made up. What made them fight was the stupidest thing. Yosaku got a girlfriend and had dumped him two days before the match and he was trying to figure out why when someone on the team told Yosaku that they saw Johnny with the girl a couple of days before they broke up. Johnny later explained that he knew that the girl was cheating on Yosaku with one of the jocks on the soccer team and confronted the girl saying she better tell Yosaku or he will. And when Yosaku told Johnny that she dumped him, he thought she had told him so he didn't say anything. So that's why they got into a fight on the bus. A fucking girl. When Tashigi told me all this, I was just as confused as she was. 

"Boys, I swear," she said and sighed, then turned off the water in the shower in the locker room the next day. Oddly enough, I and Tashigi were on alright terms. Now here she is with her mom helping me with court proceedings. 

And I honestly caught myself almost saying the same thing when I found out Sanji blabbed about what happened at the restaurant. The last thing I wanted or needed, was to be the center of attention. Everyone was either scared out of their minds or constantly asked me if I was okay. I ended up ranted to Luffy about what if my dad found out about all this because he was the only one to actually understand the consequences that might ensue.

"Maybe you should try and make contact with your Aunt, and move in with her," Luffy suggested. I laughed. That was about as likely as Nami going an entire day without makeup. At lunch, I got so fucking pissed because the stupid snack machine ate my dollar. Franky was with me watching it all unfold when he calmed me down. 

"There there, let Big Bro handle it," he said and rammed into it with his shoulder. The Texas cherry pie fell. I was thankful big bro handled it and munched on my cherry pie angrily. 

"Thank you, Franky," I said and we sat on the guard rails on the second floor, that overlooked the school's courtyard. The bars were cold and we could see the snow pile up in places on the ground. Everything was freezing over. He patted me on the head and drank his cola.

"No problem, I'm just glad that my little sis is okay after that thing at the restaurant," Franky said and I gave him a glare. "And before you claim that it's because I think you can't take care of yourself, it's not. We both know if your father finds out, you'll be in deeper trouble than you already are in. If you need anything, don't hesitate to ask.". Franky was right honestly, he just cared. You would think that his big bro thing would grind on my nerves, but it oddly enough didn't. He had pure big brother intentions, which was better than Ace's. It was comforting at times even. 

The only guys who didn't offer any type of help at all were Law and Usopp. God bless Law, he knew what it felt like to want to be left alone. So alone if fact, Hawkeye decided to pick that day to make me serve my punishment for that time I skipped, and because I blew up on Yosaku and beat his ass in practice. We were practicing combat and I just lost control and went out of control and ended sending him to the nurse. It was uncalled for and I almost got demoted. When Hawkeye pulled into his office, I knew he could tell I was sorry. He sentenced me to clean the showers, and I didn't argue. The showers were nasty and haven't been cleaned in ages. They were six of them in total, each one had mildew and grime. The team didn't even bother to shower before leaving after practice, but Tashigi left a bottle of water for me. 

Two and a half hours later I was finally done. I drank the entire water bottle that Tashigi gave me and took a breather. I had to say, I had never seen the showers look that clean before. Props to fucking bleach and dawn soap with vinegar. The only set back was that breathing was very hard in there because of all the chemicals. I stumbled out into the locker room that connected to the weight room. All of the lights off in the building I thought, but while coughing like mad in the dark, I noticed that lightly poked out from underneath the door to the weight room. As my cough disappeared, it was completely silent. Until I heard the sound of grunting. Curiosity got the better of me and I walked over to the door and opened it very slightly. I saw someone bench pressing with giant ass weights on either side. And I don't know if it was my imagination or not, but I began to recognize that voice. 

"Zoro?" I said and opened the door fully, then walked over to where Zoro was laying. He continued to work out and his bare chest glistened with sweat, and his body reeked of it. "What are you still doing here?" I asked with an eyebrow raised. He looked over at me and I noticed he was listening to music from his earphones. He sat down the bar and sat up, and took one out. 

"Scarlet? Did you just get done with the showers?" he asked questionably. Both of us had our eyebrows raised. 

"Yeah, it took me fucking forever but I got it done. I just hope ice hasn't covered the roads by now. And what are you still doing here working out?" I asked. I looked into his green eyes rather than stare at his chest. Every part of him was muscle and he could easily take the buffest man I knew award. In all honesty, I suddenly wanted to get the hell out of there. But something made me stay rooted where I was, locked in conversation. 

"I don't think the roads will be too bad really," he said and scratched the back of his neck and began to cock it in order to pop it. His hand slowly started to fall to the side of his neck. "And honestly I just like being here after everyone leaves, and working out helps clear my mind,

"With the snow around here, you never know," I said and rolled my eyes. Zoro gave a chuckle. "Anyways I should probably get going, see you around," and began to walk away. It felt awkward standing next to Zoro, I've felt so nervous around him lately and I don't even know why. I gladly took the chance to walk away now that I was free from conversation lock-down. I quickened my pace.

"Hey wait, Scarlet. Hold up," Zoro and got up. My heart nearly tore out of my chest and I tripped over a dumbbell that was laying on the ground. If it hadn't been for Zoro, I would have kissed the ground. He caught me by the arm and flung me up. He took ahold of my shoulder to balance me. "Are you okay? ".

"Yeah thanks, " I said trying to stop my head from spinning.

"Were you drinking in there?! Damn I almost wish I was sentenced to clean the showers," he said and I laughed.

"No you don't want to go in there, the entire thing is like a gas chamber right now with all the cleaning chemicals I used," I said smiling while rolling my eyes. Zoro laughed and I became aware that he was still touching me. I cleared my throat awkwardly. "Anyways what was it you told me to wait for?". Zoro stopped laughing and coughed too. He let go of my shoulder but still gripped my arm. He looked away for a moment and his face sobered. His eyes flickered back to mine.

"Was it true what Sanji said? About what happened in the bathroom at the Baratie?" he asked. I looked away, down to the ground, and then to his hand wrapped around my forearm.

"Yeah. It is." I said. I saw and felt Zoro squeeze my arm and I looked up and saw his jaw began to tighten. His eyes were set forward, turning into a slow fury. "Hey look, it's honestly no big deal, this kind of shit happens all the time," I began but Zoro only got angrier. I almost got scared. 

"Stop, Scarlet, just stop," he said, his jaw was tight and he was looking straight at me. I tried to pull away from a little but his grip was too tight. 

"Stop what?!" I asked, almost angry. 

"Acting as if everything is alright. It's not alright! And if this is normal for you, why did lose control and freaked out on Yosaku?! And if it really normal for you, all this sexual harassment and constantly lying to yourself rather than asking for help, then something needs to change!" Zoro barked. I blinked. Zoro's face began to calm but it was serious and his eyes showed something I couldn't quite place. It was almost sadness with rage, and something else. I ripped my arm away, the suddenness of it helped along with the amount of strength I put behind it. 

"No matter how much I change, I will still be who I am at my core, Zoro. And it won't also matter if this world doesn't change. Maybe if there were more men out there who respected females we would have this problem less." I retorted and spun at my heels. 

"And does that person continue to push people away?! I admit our world needs to change but you do too Scarlet!" he called back. That stopped me at my tracks.

"Like you're fucking one to talk! I'm fine on my own thank you!" I said and glared at him. Zoro scoffed at threw the look back at me. 

"I'm not saying you're not! I'm saying that you think needing people is weak! As soon as someone remotely wants to help you, you push them away!" Zoro said, his arms opened wide.

"Oh, you are the absolute last person to try and lecture me that needing me isn't weak!" I argued back. 

"Are you fucking kidding me?! What gave you that idea?!" He yelled. Zoro had my full attention and I gave him the worst look in my arsenal. 

"The tournament asshole!" I said and Zoro's head caved in a little in shock. "And the Halloween party," my voice almost trembling. Zoro's expression softened. 

"I felt weak because that guy got the better of me, the one at the party and the one at the tournament," Zoro explained. "If I have trouble like that, it can cost more than my eye or my team. How will I be able to protect everyone?". I was taken back. Zoro was very silent about his struggles. Hearing them aloud, him saying them out loud, almost broke me. 

"See?! That's what I'm getting at! You think that YOU have to protect everyone! It's like if anyone protects you, you get all crazy and work out until midnight! You're breaking yourself because you think you're weak, I mean god damn you already lost an eye, what else do you have to lose? Take care of yourself". I said and Zoro screamed and groaned. He took his hands to his head and gave a frustrated crack in his voice. 

"Why are you so fucking stubborn?!" he yelled. "Just LET US FUCKING HELP YOU GODDAMNIT!" this time he looked me straight in the eyes. 

"Why do you care?! I'm only going to make you lose more and more! What all do you have to lose?!" I screamed back. Zoro erupted. 

"YOU! I HAVE YOU TO LOSE! GOD DAMMIT WE ALL CARE ABOUT YOU!" Zoro exploded. His breath became ragged and he began to calm. "I care about you, and my team," he said without breaking eye contact. I was consumed by so many different emotions that my face didn't know what facial expression to make. My face twitched and my eyes stung. And like typical me, I ran out of there. "SCARLET!" Zoro called after me. I kept running. Out of the dark building, into the parking lot, into the cold. I could see my bike and I pulled my keys out of my pocket. I could hear Zoro running after me, calling for me to wait. I got on my bike and started my bike engine. I looked back at Zoro, who stood in the middle of the parking lot without a shirt on. I didn't even bother to put on my helmet even though the icy wind was already weaving its way into my hair and pricking my skin. He made a step forward and in seconds I revved up my bike and wiped out of the parking lot at the sound of my own name and the burning wind in my ears.


	18. Scrambled Comforts and New Ways of Life

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> *NSFW*
> 
> Scrambled eggs, scary movies, and alcohol between two friends can lead to many things.

*NSFW WARNING*

 

When I got home, Ace was sitting on the couch without a shirt on eating scrambled eggs. I sighed and hung my keys on that plastic hooks hung up next to the door. I dropped my bag and Ace looked up from the T.V. and looked at me. 

"Long day?" Ace asked, arching his eyebrows sympathetically. 

"You have no idea," I said and went over to the fridge. My eyes were puffy and red from the ride back home. I spent the entire ride and I tried not to cry but the wind never let me have the choice. That entire week I had tried not to cry and my eyes almost begged for it. Like it would make me feel so much better if I let it all out. "Anyways, what are you here for?".

"Just checking up on you honestly. Heard about what happened at the Baratie so I just came down to make sure you had plenty of alcohol and food," Ace said and I smiled weakly at the display of bottles in my fridge. Just as I looked up I saw brand new mixes and alcohols. Ace was the best at making me feel better, no one could understand me as he did sometimes. I grabbed a bottle of vodka, gin, tequila, and all the other necessary ingredients to make two Walk Me Downs. I reached up into the cabinets and pushed aside large plastic cups and pulled out simple glasses made of stained glass. I came over and sat next to Ace with the two glasses clanking together.

"Thanks, for everything," I said and handed Ace his drink.

"Also washed your sheets. Fresh from the dryer," he said, still eating. He turned his attention back to the T.V. and I felt a pang in my chest and my eyes started to sting a little. The weight from the weeks seemed to have quadrupled onto my shoulders.

"You know me so well," I barely got out. Fresh warm sheets to pass out into after a hard week? He knew what really mattered in life. He took his drink from me and took a large swig of it.

"Want to watch a scary movie?" he asked. "I'm kinda feeling something older but tasteful,".

"Any exercist movie and some zombie movies then?". Ace's lips rose to a smirk and he brought up the first haunted movie we had stashed on the hard drive that connected to the T.V. The T.V. itself wasn't that special, just a normal 45 inch that had an HDMI hookup that we had an old laptop we found in a park and hooked it up to that. The cable reached long enough to the couch so you could control it from the end table on the side of the couch. The end table was also stolen like most of my furniture in the apartment. And every piece had a story behind it on how I obtained it in a roundabout way. 

On our fifth movie and seventh mix drink, I was almost asleep on Ace's chest. He was in charge of the controls because he was the closest to the end table and I didn't want to get up. I felt his drunken chest rise and fall and the smell of liquor on his breath. When he would go back to the laptop I felt the muscles in shoulders and biceps stretch behind him and loosen back when he placed his arm back to his side. He was careful not to move as my eyes drooped to the lullaby of the night the movie sang to us. When the movie was over, my body didn't feel tension or anything. When I tried to stand up my body fell over and landed back onto the couch while Ace laughed.

"Shut dup," I grumbled but I was still smiling. l started to giggle and held out my arms for Ace. Everything was bubbly and light, I felt like I could float. Ace stood up, after stumbling a little and leaned over me, pushing his fingers under my body and into his arms. Without much effort, he lifted me up and swung me around while smiling. It was a nice smile and I laughed and he carried me to my bed and tucked me in. 

"I'm sorry for what happened, Scar. Honestly, I'm just glad you're alright. Marco and I got everything covered so your dad doesn't find out. I promise. Just relax, you deserve it." Ace said and brought out my stuffed tiger from underneath my bed and gave it to me. It was small but my mom gave it to me and it helped me feel safe. Only Ace knew about Mr. Ishii. Ace smiled and ruffled my hair a little. 

"Thank you" I whispered as leaned over me. He swept my long bangs out my eyes and held my face in his hands. I saw him smile and lean closer to me, his breath short and intoxicating. He found my eyes and never let go of them with his.

"You don't have to thank me, Scarlet," He whispered, pronouncing my name as if it was precious. I could hear he say every letter like it was all he ever wanted to say. He let his tongue flick slowly as he pronounced the "l" sound and looked at me as if I was the only thing in the world. I reached out my hand and made contact with his face and felt the air escape my chest and found oxygen again.

"You're the only person who loved me, even when all I did was hurt people," I reasoned, pointing out how bad I used to be. Ace only leaned in closer to me, his hair brushing against my face. 

"You're so much more than who you used to be. You're strong and courageous, sarcastic, funny, beautiful," he listed while never taking his eyes from me. He shifted his body more onto the bed and took his other hand to hold my waist. "You're smart, badass, resourceful, stubborn, diligent, and kind, Scarlet, I've loved you for the longest time and I regret not telling you sooner. I'm sorry for pushing myself onto you at Luffy's Halloween party, I just couldn't bear it any longer." Ace wepted. His face contorted into sadness and leaned in closer to hug me. I felt his warmth and my body acted on its own and held him tight. I wrapped my arms around his bare back and drew him closer to me. Ace held me there in my bed, holding me like he was scared that I would leave. He moved his legs and crawled under my comforter and continued to hold me. I turned my head to look at him and leaned in closer to touch my lips with his. I could only comply and leaned more into him. I felt his arm that was wrapped around my waist drawing me closer to his warm body as he pressed his lips more into mine. My hand that was around his face moved to his chest and his side, wrapping it and gripping it, scared that he would leave. He only pressed harder into my lips and his drunken tongue slip into mine. I couldn't stop my own from going into his mouth and his arms slammed me into him, skin touching skin and the sweet lullaby of flesh took control of me. I broke away from his kiss and leaned into his neck, kissing and sucking on it. His hands around my waist moved to my ass and gripped onto me like I was a lifeline. I heard Ace moan and reach inside my shorts, grabbing the flesh and sinking deeper into the cheeks. The feeling of his hands handling me made me gasp and moan and Ace took that opportunity to flip me on my back and crawl on top. He stared down at me like he wanted to put his mouth all over me, his arms beside my head as I lay there, knowing what I wanted. He slammed his lips into my mine and reached under my shirt, feeling the fabric and made the journey under my bra. Once I felt his hand on my nipple I gasped and I felt my lower part shiver. He only kept kissing me as he removed the bra from under my back. Once it was undone, the freeing pleasantness wrapped around me as he flung it across the room. He kept kissing me and I complied, kissing him back eagerly, wanting more. I unbuckled his pants and unzipped them while he was caught up in my lips and stopped briefing to take them off. They too were flung into the floor before going right back into my mouth, and his hands worked on taking off my shirt. With only his boxers on, he made diligent work of stripping me while we made out. When he had his fingers wrapped around my underwear, wanking them off, his pelvis was starting to make thrusting motions onto me. He slipped his boxers off and he was already hard. He stuck out, almost pulsing and waiting for something wet. 

We laid there naked looking at each other, out lips and hormones begging for attention, mesmerized at what we saw. Ace smirked wickedly while he looked at me, licking his lips in anticipation. I saw his chest rise and fall while admiring his sculpted figure, every pulsing muscle was dripping in a sickly sweet scent.

"You're beautiful, no one could ever compare to you, Scarlet," he breathed into the wind between us. I only smirked and licked my sharp canines while stretching my body out on the mattress. "I love you, Scarlet," he whispered and kissed my neck, biting into the flesh and licking it. He moved his tongue down to my chest started to lick the tender skin around my nipple on my left breast. With his other hand, he clutched my other breast and started to handle it, squeezing the nipple between his fingers and kneading into the breast. He had slowly moved down my body and stopped when it was at my entrance to my vulva. While still licking my breast, he slid his fingers into me and my body exploded. So gentle and soft, he took his time, while as I, was trembling and breathing deeply. I started to moan uncontrollably at the torture that he went slowly. 

"I love you too," I whispered and he stopped. Stopped the licking and pulled his fingers out. I was so confused until his lips were back on mine and time began to stop, just me and him kissing. He reached down to his own and spread my legs more out as he enclosed more onto me. He removed his hand from my waist onto his member as he angled the tip to be just touching the entrance. He put his eyes back to me and he thrust for the first time into me. It was earth-shattering, and he wasn't gentle. Roughly he slid in and out as I moaned and he grunted. He wouldn't slow down his pace but only go faster and faster. My legs wrapped around him and my arms and hand were clawing at his back while I screamed his name. He was fast and hard, so hard that I felt it at the bottom of my stomach. I didn't want him to stop, and it was clear that he didn't want to either. He places his hands at the base of my neck and leaned in for more kissing, which my body happily complied with. He slid his another hand onto my breast and ventured to every part my D cups had to offer. 

Suddenly, he pulled out right before he finished and finished on the sheets instead of inside of me. He collapsed beside me while deep breathing and I finished right there as I saw his face. He put his hand back on my sweaty neck and pulled me into his lips. I pulled away and gasped and Ace laughed in between breaths and smiled sweetly at me.

"You're amazing, Scarlet. I need you to know that" He said drunkenly.

"I love you, Ace. Always have and always will," 

 

-X-

 

I groaned as I heard my alarm on my phone going off. Every annoying blaring sound stabbed at my waking mind and it was the last thing I wanted to hear. I flung my arm over to wear my phone would be plugged up on its charger to stop the ringing. But before I could make contact with my phone, my arm fell short and there was a tug at my waist holding me back like I couldn't fully move. Confused, I turned my head around to see what was holding onto me, like maybe it was a too tight of a blanket or the sheets on my bed unlatched from the bed last night and wrapped themselves around me. I was very warm and I did not want to get up at all. My blurry vision adjusted to the light coming in through the window as I turned my head and felt the warmth around my waist loosen. I sat up fully and the air sucked out of my lungs when I saw what was keeping me in the bed. 

I suddenly couldn't breathe, my lungs burning their way up my throat and my head thundering between my ears. Ace lay there, one arm still loosely holding onto me, completely naked. If my conscious shattered, it did now. I shoved my body away from Ace and fell off the bed, taking the covers with me. I heard Ace moan as he started to sit up, and the light illuminated his body as I laid, my body laid there before him as he made eye contact with me. 

"Ace?" I whispered and his jaw dropped and ran his fingers through his hair, he eyes completely shocked. He looked down at himself and covered his dick with his hands, his face completely red. 

"S-scarlet?!" He panicked starring at me. "D-did w-we?" he stuttered. 

"Yeah, I think so," I barely got out. Ace groaned and put his head into his hands, clawing at his hair. 

"It wasn't supposed to happen like this," he whispered frustratingly. 

"What do you mean it wasn't supposed to happen like this??" I barked and Ace only looked at me with so much embarrassment and confusion. 

"I just, I wanted to take you on a date and become official before any of this, or least that's what I wanted," Ace explained without being able to take his eyes off of me. I was so mad and confused I just stood up, letting the blanket fall off of me.

"Look, I have to start my first day at the Black Lily so whatever the fuck happened, can wait." I asserted and turned my heel to go to my bathroom, but Ace followed me. 

"NO! We need to talk about this, Scarlet! I won't leave until we figure out how to take this situation and what it means to us," Ace argued. I tried to shut the door on him but Ace plowed through it and threw it open, causing the door to make a dent in the wall. I looked back at him like he was crazy but he backed me into the wall facing the mirror of my bathroom. He put his arms up and placed his hands on either side of my head. When I looked up at him, his whiskey eyes were on fire and I knew there was no getting out of this talk, not when he's this determined. He wasn't going to let me run. 

"What all do you remember from last night, then?" I asked, never breaking eye contact. He leaned in closer to me and talked only just above a whisper.

"I remember the taste of Walk Me Downs and your lips, and how I held you in your own bed and told you I loved you," Ace said, turning his slightly to the right. His eyes flickered up and down my body and back to my eyes. "What do you remember?". 

"I know that we didn't black out for sure, I came home and you were here eating and we got drunk and watched scary movies. Then me thanking you for everything, then the kissing and the feeling of the bottom of my stomach being punched out," I described, looking at the floor, embarrassed. Ace moved his hands from the wall and slid them down to my waist, holding my hips and pulling himself closer to me. He moved his head and angled it so that I saw him while I looking at the floor. He looked so sincere and vulnerable. Using his forehead, he pushed my forehead upwards and back to looking forward. 

"I remember you telling me you loved me," Ace whispered, his eyes pleading. "Please be honest with me, I couldn't handle it being a lie or a drunken whisper,". He pressed more of his body onto mine and I looked up at him, covering my chest with my arms so confused and I felt so vulnerable. Was it true? I knew that I had the biggest crush on Ace for the longest time at least, but did that still hold true? I ran from him and cried for fuck's sake, and every time I think about Ace, I feel torn, like there was just something else holding me back. But if I ignored it and looked at how I felt and why I felt, Ace was always there. If I ever needed anything, Ace was there and would treat me so wonderfully. Thinking about Ace made me smile and feel good inside.

"I don't think it was a lie," I said as I looked into Ace's whiskey and fire eyes. A spark flashed in his eyes and I was lurched forward and spun around. When everything stopped spinning, Ace sat me on my bathroom counter and still had his hands on my hips. He pressed his lips against quickly and held me there. He inched closer to me and I felt his chest against mine and his thighs slide between mine. He let go of the kiss briefly to look at me but kept his mouth close to mine.

"Then will you be with me, Scarlet?" He asked with confidence like he demanded my attention. His eyes were honest and his actions were kind, Ace was something you could crave and not feel guilty about. I reached out my hand to his head wrapped my fingers in his hair, twiring with lose strands while I remained eye contact with him. He was holding his breath and his eyes were pleading for an answer. But words never came to me, instead, I brought his head closer and kissed him roughly on the mouth, and used my legs to wrap around his body to enclose the space between us. I felt Ace smile and toy with my hips. I pulled back from the kiss and pushed him back slightly. 

"Now, shoo, I need to shower before work," I smirked but Ace's lips curled into the sexiest grin. 

"Oh, I don't think so baby," He played and picked me up while my legs still held on to him. I laughed and he twirled me around and stepped into the shower with me and pinned me against the wall. I didn't let go of him and he turned on the hot water using my elbow. I couldn't stop smiling and he kissed me again on the lips and worked his way to my neck. I laughed and told him to quit playfully, that I was serious, I needed to get to work. Instead, he spread my legs further and slid himself inside. I gasped as he thrust, sliding one hand to my head so my head didn't hit the wall, and the other hand holding me up. I felt his mouth suck on my neck as the water ran onto us hot. Without slowing pace, he turned his head back to me and wrapped his mouth around mine, but only after whispering devilishly into my ear "I love you,".

-X-

When I got on my bike and rode to the shop, I sat at the reception desk in the Black Lily Tattoo Shop. My brain was a little fogged but I just took some ibuprofen and sucked it up. I had bills to pay and when I accepted the job at the shop, I was actually accepting an apprenticeship, which was a fancy word for an intern. I didn't get paid for no matter what I did. It could take up to a year for me to figure it all out. I guess I could cut back on gas, walk to school for now on, and stop eating take out so much. 

"Are you Scarlet?" a woman asked as the bell at the front rang. She had a cup of coffee in her hand came up to the desk.

"Yes? How can I help you?" I asked. The woman's face brightened up.

"Oh, that's great. Thorne told me all about you. I'm Daedonia, but most people call me Donia. You'll be apprenticing under me, you're here earlier than I expected." the woman said, she walked around the counter holding a fast food bag and a coffee. 

"Thank you?" I said. "So where do we start?". Donia laughed and took off her sunglasses. She had platinum blonde hair covered a bit of her right eye, and her eyes were pure ice blue. She wore a black tank top with a cheetah print jacket over it with black leggings. Tattoos covered her right arm and she had two chin studs. The way she smiled and walked made me feel relaxed somehow like she was laid back.

"Well, the first rule of thumb. Kind of an old rule because we have credit cards nowadays but always carry a thousand dollars cash on you, it's for change and shit." Donia explained.

"A thousand dollars?!" I asked, shocked. 

"Yeah but it's your first day so no sweat. Just have it by the end of the week, kay?" Donia said like it was some easy task. I didn't expect this apprenticeship to cost me. I didn't want to tell her that there was no way I could scrape up the money to do it, because then I'll get thrown out and that's the last thing I need. 

"Okay," I said like it was no big deal. It's not a thousand dollars was a lot of fucking money or anything. Just a thousand dollars. 

"Well now that, that's settle. Let's start with the basics, shall we?" Donia said and gave a bright smile.


	19. Blue Jeeps, Strong Women, and Lost Girls

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Scarlet starts her first day at the Black Lily and learns the truth about some of the employees.

My brain was swimming in newfound knowledge that I had learned on my first day. We had focused on different types of piercings as well as the importance of cleanliness of everything. How everything needed to be sterile and very clean and If you dropped something on the floor, it was dead. Don't touch it. As since I was the intern, I got to learn how to clean everything. I worked the reception desk, clean everything, get things for the artist, and watch them tattoo and pierce things. Luckily when I spoke with Throne he hired me on as a receptionist and I would intern while I was here so that I could still earn a paycheck.

But today, at the sound of my alarm, I had to wake up for something I had been dreading for a while now. It was finals week for the first semester. When the cold came in, so did the anxiety of failure. Since being in dojo had meant I needed good grades, even though I was relatively a B average student, I still felt the pressure or rather the NEED to succeed. I yawned and dragged myself out of bed. I got ready for the day and put Irish cream in my coffee because it was that kind of day. I drank it while going over some study guides but my eyes started to close more and more and ended up taking a twenty-minute nap on my table. 

After finally becoming official with Ace, I still neglected to tell anyone, in fact, I was so busy with surviving and studying that I often forgot about it. When I returned from my first day, Ace was still in the apartment on his phone and struggling to get his pants on. He smiled when he saw me and ran over to kiss me.

"Hey, babe!" he teased and picked me up to spin me around. The gesture made my lips curl into a wide, happy smile. "How about we go out tonight?". I toyed with the thought and agreed since it was only eight at night. He took me out to a nice place in the whitebeard territory and we were served for free. He kept his arm around my waist and milled around the bar area after a full meal of expensive sushi and Asian food. When he dropped me off in his new orange Mustang and walked me to my door, up all the stairs and pressed me against the door. After five minutes of just kissing me, we went inside and passed out in the bed. The next day when we woke up, he said he had to leave. Whitebeard business he claimed before giving me a quick peck on the cheek and leaving. 

"Goddamnit," I grumbled and got dressed and chugged the rest of the coffee I had. I grabbed an apple from my fruit bowl. I ran down all the stairs where Franky in his blue jeep was in the parking lot waiting for me. He honked his horn and I could hear the sound of G-Eazy rapping in his jeep. I picked up the pace and something opened the door to the backseat and I jumped right through it, shutting it when I landed in the seat. Franky put the jeep in drive and we shot forward.

"Seat belts!" he yelled and strapped myself in. Franky had offered to give me rides to school since I'm cutting back on gas and it was starting to get really cold outside. But when I noticed who was in the front seat my heart jumped. It was immediately awkward since we hadn't talked since Friday. His green spikey hair and large arms poked out of the seat. I looked in the rear view mirror and I could see his face looking forward. He had bags under his eyes and his face seemed to cave a bit from how hollow he looked. That moron was drinking last night and had too much. We rode on to a song called "Prom Night" by Anamanaguchi. It kind zoned me out and I could feel the wheels turn in the car, moving forward but staying the same. Like a gif of all us sitting the jeep, windows rolled down, snow falling, and all of us looking dead and empty inside. Is it weird to have this kind of zone out to happy poppy/electronic music? I didn't even know Franky liked this kind of music. Must be his guilty pleasure. We pulled into the parking lot and I had to really push myself to get out of the car. It was so warm and nice and I almost fell asleep again. I completely zoned out leaning against the door. Just when I thought my eyes closed, Zoro flung the door open. If it wasn't for the seat belt, I would fell onto the concrete. I hung out the door with my seat belt holding on to me.

"Jesus Christ, don't fucking kill her. You alright, Red?" Franky asked from the sidewalk. 

"Aw shit sorry, Scarlet," Zoro said and I looked up to give him a death glare but I couldn't. He leaned down and helped me back into the seat.

"At least I'm awake now," I said and unbuckled my seat belt.

"Yeah brushes with death do that," Zoro said., his eyebrows knitted together almost apologetically. 

"Seat belts save lives, you guys. This why we wear them," Franky said as I slid out of the seat.

"For this exact reason?" I asked. "Not because of car accidents of anything?". Franky gave me a dirty look that would have looked well with a cigarette in his mouth. 

"Look not everyone wants to jump into the jaws of death like you two do, ok?" Franky said, pointing at the both of us. Then he shook his head, locked the car after I shut the door, and he turned to go. I followed behind Zoro now that my body was awake.

"Why the hell did you open to the door anyway?" I asked.

"I thought you were asleep," Zoro said in a defensive tone. He carried his backpack with one strap and tried readjusting it.

"Well, surprise I was...I think.....???" I trailed off. 

"Well you were so quiet so I figured you were," he explained.

"Are you saying I'm loud?" I said acting offended. I honestly didn't give a shit about being loud a lot. 

"Well shit, you're always yelling," Zoro said and nudged my arm while smiling. 

"Well, I kind of have to otherwise nobody will listen," I said and nudged his arm back. Zoro smirked and we headed inside. Franky split off from us to go to his first class and we headed to ours. Before we entered the door, Zoro pulled me aside. We stood outside the classroom and Zoro hunched over a little bit and lowered his voice. He was looking around and then finally took a deep breath. 

"Look, before it gets weird, want to pretend what happened the other day didn't happen?" He asked.

"Yeah, actually I do," I said, shrugging. Zoro smirked.

"Okay, then you're going to love what I found on Mr. Shanks-"

-X-

Three days later:

Exams were finally over at the end of the day and we were all sent back to our homeroom before being dismissed. I sat beside Zoro and Robin like always but today was different. Today was the day Zoro had presented us with the beautiful information he found on Mr. Shank's college days. Once presented with a video, Mr. Shanks did the unexpected. 

"If you guys tell anyone about this, I'll fail your asses in a heartbeat. Even the captains of the dojo team," he said looking at us. He shut the blinds and put the video up on the projector. Loud music started that sounded like a high school band playing Nirvana's "In Bloom". It showed a football field and tons of people are lined up at one end of the field. It looked super old and a logo came upon the screen. It was a beer glass with a football stuck in it. It was titled, "The Drunk Olympics". Laughter came out from everyone. "Alright so when I was in my golden days, we had a little once-a-year pass time where we would raid the football field and get well, heavily intoxicated, in a series of games." Mr. Shanks explained.

Mr.Shanks explained that each person had to guzzle two to three ounces of straight tequila before the games even started. When it started you had to chug, depending on the year because every year they had different alcohol for the second round due to 'sponsorships' (one year they had Hennessy), one-fourth of the bottle before moving on to the next round. Mr. Shanks ensured us that they had biology majors come in and did their math so no one would get alcohol poisoning. Each year they changed up the amount to be chugged because of the alcohol content in each bottle. But everyone drinks enough to get shit faced, truly science at it's best. The next round consisted of each person eating a whole box of pizza, while on their feet. Tables were set up for each round and they were a total of five. Next, they blindfolded you and spun you around, and you had to run across the field as fun as you could. Watching them stumble and fall was actually pretty funny. They had sober people on the sidelines ready to help the drunk and fallen. The last challenge was the best in my opinion. You had to joust. You got up on the back of someone and they were called you're trusty steed. And the lancer had to carry sharpened pool noodles decorated with duct tape. They would charge and whoever was left standing won the joust and could continue onto the final round, the drinking contest. The basic principle of the last three standing won. There was apparently a bonus round for the three winners the next day called "The Hangover Games,'. Each person in the middle of the night, while they're passed out drunk, would be carried to a different location around the campus and left a list things they needed to find. Like keys, wallets, homework that's due soon, the thing you typically would need as a hungover college student. Whoever finds all their shit first wins the crown of the Drunk Olympics. 

As I was watching all the videos that Mr. Shank showed us, I began to vaguely notice all the faces.

"THERE'S YOU!" someone yelled and pointed at the screen. We all looked toward it and we saw Mr. Shanks's red hair drinking a bottle of Johnny Walker. He had two arms then. We all laughed because he slurred around and ran forward and into the pizza box table. There was a woman next to him that I couldn't make out until after the running event. She even looked into the camera and smiled, and stuck out the tongue. I jumped up.

"PAUSE IT!" I said frantically. Mr. Shanks hit the space button his computer. I stared at the woman trying to find answers. I realized the woman I was looking at had the same face that I looked at every day in the mirror. 

"Scarlet, was that your mom?" Robin asked. 

"Yeah, that's my mom," I said. I knew that she went to college, she met my father in college. Apparently, they met specifically at something called a Davey Back Fight.

"Did these Olympics ever by a different name?" I asked Mr. Shanks.

"Yeah, some called them Davey Back Fights for like a code name," Mr. Shanks, then played the video. The video resumed and the joust came up. Shanks and my mom high fived and he squatted down so my mom could get on his back. But a man came up and took my mom away from Shanks, nearly dragged her. They ended up being a team and won that round. My jaw nearly dropped. That man was my father.

"That's the day they met didn't they?" I whispered. It was weird to see it all on old footage in the middle of my English class. The rest of the class resumed and my mom actually won that year of the Drunk Olympics, she was the only one that could find all her things in the Hungover Games. When class was over Mr. Shanks pulled me to side. 

"I'm guessing you have questions?" he asked and raised his eyebrow.

"So many," I said.

"Well, I can answer some coming from my end at least ok? Now go," Mr. Shanks said.

"Where you guys friends or dating or???" I asked. Mr. Shanks laughed.

"Yes, we were friends, very good friends. And feelings may have been involved at one point but it was never ah, got anywhere. She was terrifying, one time I saw her beat a quarterback with a milk jug. "

"Does that mean if I bring a milk jug every day to class, you won't give me homework?" I pleaded.

"No, although I have no doubt you could beat someone with a milk jug, I rather not face your mother in the afterlife because I didn't take your education seriously. She would kill me, again," he added.

"It was worth a shot," I claimed. Shanks snorted.

"Yeah, a shot Boa women tend to take, anyways any more questions?". 

"Was that the day they met?" I asked. Shanks looked at me with sorrow in his eyes but he set his jaw in strength. If he knew both of my parents then he would know why I was asking these questions. I was pleading with him to tell me the honest truth, I wanted to know more about her. 

"No, they had met a year prior at the same event," he explained but I had so many other questions. 

"How well did you know him?" I asked. Shanks took another breath and looked at me again.

"It was more than I knew of him until that day. He was very persistent with your mother," He answered like he was trying to delicately choose his words. I could see that he didn't like my father by the way his posture would straighten and his jaw would set. How could I possibly blame him? He answered the rest of my questions all he could but Zoro and Franky came in later with hot chocolate from a food stand not from the school.

"Red you ready to roll?! Tonight we're celebrating," Franky said and held up a cup for me made of styrofoam. Shanks laughed and nudged my shoulder. 

"Go, you'll miss them someday," he remarked. I smiled and looked at them. I agreed and got up and made my way towards them.

-X-

The next day I had the same problem I did for the past couple of days. I needed a thousand dollars and quickly. I never bothered to tell Ace since it wasn't like he had the money either. I began to frantically dig around my room for any scrap of anything to sell but I came up empty-handed. Suddenly, I remembered something I literally forgot about. I went to the top shelf of my closet and pulled down my mother's memory box. Its where I put the things that belonged to my mom. It was a small chest with a lock and the key was in a secret compartment on the bottom. I pulled out the old school key made of some kind of steel. It had snakes curl up crisscrossing until both of their head touched. I unlocked the box and pulled out a sword, a pistol, some pearls, another necklace, snake earrings, a picture of me and her and finally, her debit card. I don't know if it was still active but when she died, a lot of money went to me when I turned eighteen. Knowing how my dad is, I probably won't get a penny. So, she arranged a CD she had started in high school to be given to me and me only. There were several legal locks so that he didn't even know about it. I had never used it before because it was only used for emergencies only, but this time is as good as any. The card was a plain white card with a black stripe at the top corner. Kaze Boa was printed at the front. I ran my fingers across the etched texture of the plastic. The bank she used was on the Northern side of the city, in Lily territory and fairly close to the Black Lily. I took the card and put it in my wallet. I didn't know the exact details about the CD, hell I didn't even know how much was on the damn thing. I just know there's at least a thousand on it. I headed down the stairs and got on my bike and journeyed to the bank.

When I got there, I had no idea what to do, so do I just slip into the ATM? I tried that idea and screen registered it and made me put in the passcode. I put it knowing that it was the chromosomes that the lily had. It gave me a screen of different accounts, and one account was titled, "Scarlet,". I clicked it and nearly shit myself, I nearly even screamed, but I did neither. Forty-four thousand dollars were in tiny black numbers and each zero made my heart leap. 

"Thanks, mom, damn," I whispered. I pulled two thousand, so I could live for the next month. I rode to the Black Lily with new found energy. I felt like for once everything was going to be alright. I didn't have to worry about money, school, or really anything until court comes around, which might not even happen. According to evidence there not be even a trial. Ace said he handled it, and I trust him in that fact. Things were beginning to look up.


	20. Blue Jeeps, Strong Women, and Lost Girls (part 2)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Scarlet looks down into her past and meets her Aunts after years of being forced to stay away from them.

"Damn, that's legal tender right there," Donia said. 

"Hey, she even rolled it right," Aphel said. Aphel, or Aphelandra, was a very tall woman who had long brown hair and large child-like brown eyes. She had a nose stud and her arms were covered in all different kinds of flowers and birds. She wore a blue laced up tank top that held together using a string with a hood and black jeans with a pair of ankle boots. In my opinion, she was the nicest person here. 

"What do you know, you weren't lying when you said you were a fast learner," Marguerite said. Mars had short blonde hair cut into a bob and was currently wearing a brown cheetah-print crop top that exposed her shoulders with a black pencil skirt along wearing low black heels. She had a septum piercing and her neck was covered in floral designs that also look like snakeskin. It ran down past her neck onto her shoulders and I was very impressed by the artwork. From far away it almost looked like lace. She also had arrow tattoos on her fingers. 

"That's good because tonight is a Friday night, meaning our chairs will be filled." Throne said as he came down the steps buttoning his vest. "Scarlet, that means you'll pretty much man the desk on your own tonight, think you can handle it?". Thorne really did look like a mobster and tonight was no exception. Black hair slicked back curling right below his neckline, tan skin, and a clean-shaven face, all in a striped three piece white suit. He had a scar that jagged like lightning over his left eye, but unlike Zoro, he still had his eye. The other eye has two silver balls above and below his eyebrow. He still called everyone 'doll' and I was no exception. 

"I'll let you know if things get too rough," I said. Thorne clapped his hands and rubbed them.

"Marvelous doll, knew you could do it." He said and chuckled. "Now, I have to inform everyone here that there have been muggings and assaults around the area, so no one leaves alone anymore after work. Especially at night. I literally live upstairs so if I see you leave alone, I'm going to come down there and chew your ass out. Even if I don't have pants on. Is that clear?" he added. Everyone grumbled a fine but for me. I knew we were in Lily territory but I never exactly had trouble in it. Probably because something to do with me looking like my mom but I don't know how long that going to work out since she's been dead for like ten years. 

Around eight all the drunks started piling in. They came in groups at a time. And they brought only cash, intoxicated stupidity, and the smell of alcoholism. Luckily I have amazing patience with drunks. Knowing that someone is not in their right mind makes me a little bit more patient.

"So it's true! Donia has a cute little apprentice now! Thorne, where'd you find her? She's so cute!" a girl with aqua hair screamed behind the counter as I filled out her paperwork. She was here for a nipple piercing and smelled like vodka. I wanted to punch her for calling me 'cute' and 'little' but knowing that she would wake up with horribly sore nipples was good enough revenge for me. 

By nine there was almost a line out the door. I could see why Thorne was quick to let me work here, they were severely understaffed. I asked questions, filled out paperwork, got IDs and saw someone get a Rainbow Dash on their ass. It wasn't until half after ten did people stop showing up and by one we had the last person walk out the door. Donia was a tattooing beast. I saw people walk out with artwork in a matter of minutes to an hour. Lucky Thorne had in place a rule where it was so big and this detailed you would make an appointment so everyone that came in either wanted a piercing or something small. But Donia was good under heat and was definitely in high demand, as was Thorne as well. By the end of the night, her hands were sore with a pocket full of hundreds. 

"Thorne? We need an extra chair or two," Aphelandra said as she cleaned off her chair. 

"I know doll, but we gotta train Scarlet and that will take at least a year before she can tattoo," he said taking off his gloves and throwing them away. 

"What about piercing? Can't she do that? Don't get me wrong, Scarlet honey, you did amazing tonight." Marguerite said.

"Can't, not until at least April. Six months for piercing training, a year for tattooing." Donia stated while sprawled out on one of the couches in the lobby, with a water bottle beside her. Thorne came up to the front and shut off the light up "open sign" and turn the sign to 'Sorry We're Closed'. 

"But we really do need to expand out a little, do you think we have room for a least one more chair?" Thorne inquired. 

"I'm sure if you moved stuff around we could," Marguerita said and looked in the back corner where some boxes lay. I was still filling out paperwork. Just the last minute stuff as the night when on and everyone helped clean up the shop. I had everyone sign some stuff and finally done by the time Marguerite and Aphelandra left. Thorne went upstairs and asked us to lock the door when we left and told us good night. 

"Come on, what else you got? I can't leave until you do," Donia said sliding next to me on the desk. 

"You can go ahead and go, I can take care of myself," I said.

"I'm sure you can being the daughter of the Red Wind and all, but I'm strict orders not to let you leave, Ushio," Donia said and lightning shot throughout my body. No one knew my legal name, no one spoke to me or referred to me using that name. You have to pretty high up the food chain to know I was Ushio Ukama, the daughter of the Red Wind. 

"If you know that name then there is no way in hell I'm leaving in the middle of the night with you," I said coldly. 

"Relax, I'm not one of your Dad's cronies. Let's just say I'm Kuja. Your mom was a great woman and helped me become the woman I am today. You're Aunts actually keeps tabs on you a lot. But it's Thorne who has me on strict orders." Donia said.

"Does he know?" I asked. "You don't seem like someone who likes to follow orders,".

"About me or you? Because he sure as hell don't know about you and I'm pretty sure we want to keep it that way." I held my glare while still writing down what needed to be written.

"Blackmail now?" I cut with my voice. Donia smirked while raising her eyebrow.

"No, just a fact that we should probably keep under the table. I'm not going to rat on a Boa, your mom would find me in the afterlife and beat me before the devil was even at my door,". I looked up to her and her entire body was relaxed, leaning against the counter like she was about to have a drink. I started back on my paperwork and I saw no threat from her. We got to talking about a lot of stuff and Donia even invited me over to her place. She maybe bribed me with brownies and wine but it was Friday night and I ended up caving. After I was done we walked to her car and got inside. I kept inquiring on the choice of wine she had. 

"Honestly you're making me feel guilty about giving wine to a minor," Donia said as she drove.

"I'm eighteen!" I said laughing. 

"No you're not, you're seventeen at best because Kaze had you at twenty-four, making you seventeen," Donia said.

"You sure do know a lot about my mom," I said. Donia took the nearest exit.

"Of course, she was like my idol. I wanted to be exactly like her when I grew up," she said and turned on the radio. A slow and quite beat came through the radio. I believe it was "Baby Came Home" by The Neighborhood. 

"Yeah, me too," I said. Donia kept driving and driving for a quite a while. Eventually, she broke the silence.

"Okay so tell me, in your own personal experience and opinion, what's between you and your aunts?" I signed.

"Silence mostly, I think I met them once, long ago," I admitted. 

"WHAT?! Man, they must be silently watching over you or something because Marigold and Sandersonia like to talk about you a lot. 'Oh look my niece won nationals' or 'my niece broke a whitebeard man's heart!' It must be hell though living with your Dad from the way Hancock talks about him," Donia explained.

"Wait, I don't live with my dad, he pays for an apartment for me and that about it. I haven't even spoken to him nor seen him in months. And I've never broken anyone's heart."

"What?! Shit that's why they don't speak to you, they couldn't touch you while in the house of an admiral," Donia said. A sudden realization hit me and I did not want to spend the night with Donia anymore. 

"How could they know that I won regionals and about me breaking someone's heart if they still thought I lived with that man?" I asked.

"Honestly? Half our damn information on you is gossip. Rumors if you will. You are so rarely in our territory that really, to us who know about you at least, you're like a ghost. Your aunts only talk about you to their innermost circle. And before I joined the circle, I thought of you like more, like a mysterious really. Like a lost princess. You're good at keeping your head down." I let out a huh and threw my head back into the seat. 

"Don't think of me as a lost princess though," I said.

"Kinda hard not to," she said and smirked. The smirk gave me a pang of suspicion. Donia drove up to a long dirt path hidden by some trees. She took the path and we rode in silence for a couple of minutes before arriving a paved driveway leading up to a steel gate. She entered some numeric code at the gate and it opened before us. Five minutes later and we rode up to a large mansion that looked like a Chinese castle. The outside was red and white and had at least four stories. A large garden was outside and fountains and streams ran to the back around the house. Mountains were visibly etched out in the background and I knew there was no way in hell Donia could afford this being a pre-med student. 

"This is Amazon Lily isn't?" I asked.

"Sharp, was it the fact that I'm a broke college student that gave it away?" she laughed.

"That and you do not have the patients for the maintenance on that garden," I said. She laughed again and parked near the front door.


	21. Bloodline

"Care to explain why I am here?" I asked. Donia raised her eyebrow and smirked a bit.

"I know you're not stupid Miss Ukama, you know why exactly why you're here," Donia explained. I rolled my eyes.

"I'm not telling you all my dad's weaknesses and I am definitely not being strapped to a chair for ransom money. You won't get a whole lot anyway." I said passive-aggressively. But Donia only laughed.

"You watch too much T.V. kid, I don't think a massive empire needs political information on your shit fuck of a father. Social media does that shit for us." She explained. What she said about Admiral Ukama was true. In recent years many reporters and political figures have grilled him like lunch because of the horrible fuck-ups in his military operations. Everything was starting to come out of the woodworks. It's just a matter a time before someone ask the real reason his late wife's body isn't with her family and why his daughter is living in the outskirts of the ghetto since she was twelve.

"Then why the fuck am I here?" I asked. I hoped it wasn't reuniting a family. I have lived with the possibility that the Boas didn't actually want me and how they just think I'm a cheap copy of my mother. And I didn't want to see if my possibility was true.

"Because you're starving and smell like you can't afford to pay your water bill," Donia said and I went for my seat belt. She pushed me into the cold window. "Before you go and attack someone, really think about this. Your aunts have been wanting to adopt you since your mother got ill. They were trying to see her in the hospital so they could put a legal team against your father so that when she died, you wouldn't have to be thrown around and abused. They love you but they could never even be around you. Just give them a chance okay?" Donia pleaded. She loosened her grip on me and pulled away, finally realizing mine entirely. I peeled my head off the cold window and looked at her with hell in my eyes. "All I ask is that you give them a chance to explain themselves, okay? You are your own woman, I think you're mature enough to at least consider the options and make the decision yourself.". I continued to look at her but I realized she was right. I have had close to no interaction with my mother's side and yet I kept it that way thinking they wanted nothing to do with me. I looked at our surroundings, everything was so beautiful. It would be nice not having to walk in and a random shirtless man is on my couch. I looked at Donia and she stared at me with sympathetic eyes, the house standing behind her. I took a deep breath.

"I swear if I end up crying tonight, you're not getting out of owing me wine," I said. Donia laughed.

"Deal, come on, you're actually family is beyond those doors," she claimed and unbuckled her seat belt, and lead me out of the car and to the front door.

-X-

Donia put an electrical code into the lock that was on the door and it made a buzzing sound before making a soft click, unlocking the door. We entered the house and I was blown away immediately. There was a grand foray with a fireplace and large living room. Couches and chairs on top a large expensive looking rug occupied the space beside the staircase. A large T.V. bigger than my bed was placed above the fireplace. I looked up and a huge chandelier hung above our head that looked to have real diamonds string together and had light bouncing off the seem to create a visual of light that was breathtaking. The floors were made from a hard white and gold marble that was polished so perfectly I could almost see my reflection in the wax.

Donia started to walk towards the staircase and I had to quicken my pace to keep up with her.

"Quit gawking, it's hella nice but shit, you haven't seen the entire house," Donia said. I was lead to the second floor out of the four the house had (basement, first floor, second floor, and attic). Luckily it was just one staircase and a long ass walk through hallways decorated with artwork and painted walls of the mountains. At the end of the hallway, there were two doors that were closed with light peeking out from underneath the doors.

"Are they-?"I began to ask while pointing at the set of doors. I was super nervous. On our way, there have been a couple of large mirrors that we passed and I was starting to feel very self-conscious. It was really starting to become very aware that I am about to meet some of the most powerful women in the world as well as one of the rumored to be the most beautiful woman in the world.

"Yeah, that is their study. You wait outside until I say it's okay, okay?" Donia explained to me as we approached the door. I nodded as I could feel my heartbeat in my throat. I estimated a couple of seconds until I started to have a panic attack. Donia leaned down so we could be eye to eye. She cupped my face and looked at me with warm eyes. "It's going to be okay. I know you're very nervous and I know you feel like puking butterflies, but you are safe, and everything is going to be okay," she said. I slowly nodded and she let go of my face and straighten up. Chest out, back straight, shoulders square, she raised her fist and knocked twice on the door with a loud and determined thunk. A minute passed before a voice floated through the door.

"Who is it?" a woman's voice said. It sounded airy and calm. My heart pounded again.

"Daedonia, ma'am," Donia said affirmatively.

"Enter," a different voice said. It was definitely another woman, but her voice was more stern and protective. Donia nodded at me and opened one of the doors. She entered and shut the door. I have no idea what when on in there but it felt like I was outside for a lifetime. I thought about running away, just leaving and not saying a word. My heart felt like it was slamming in my throat and it was starting to get hard to breathe. My head was swimming with so many possibilities and questions that I couldn't think complete thoughts. I could almost feel the steam out of my brain and my body was going into panic break-down mode. My brain was just a constant scream.

The door slowly opened and I was two seconds away from a fucking heart attack. Donia stepped out and saw how irregular my breathing was. She came out closer to me and looked me in the eyes.

"Hey, I can't imagine how rough this must be for you, but I promise you it's fine. Look, if you get through this, I will take you to the liquor store and I'll let you pick out whatever the fuck you want and I'll buy it, okay?" Donia said. "Take some deep breaths okay? You're one of the strongest women I know.". I started to take deeper breaths and try to regulate them.

"I'm going to have t-to take y-you up on the t-that offer." I stuttered. Donia raised her eyebrows and tried not to laugh.

"Come on, the ladies of the house are in wait," she said and reached out her hand.

-X-

The room was very spacious and lined with windows that overlooked a forest and a large hot spring. I could see the mountains in the far distance. On one side of the room, there was a couch and two chairs surrounding a fireplace and a coffee table. A desk rested in the middle overlooking the view and a T.V. was mounted to the wall on the other side of the room. A long red plush rug sat on the floor. There were three women in the room. All of them were staring at me. Two of significant height were standing while one was sitting down leaning over a desk, littered with papers. The one sitting down had long black hair and striking blue eyes. She had a slim face and was wearing a pink plush robe. Her chest was exposed and holy fuck her breast looked like weights. To her right, a woman with long wavy green hair wore white dress pants and with a black sleeveless dress shirt. A white blazer hung over her shoulders. She had green eyes that reminded me of fresh moss with hints of yellow. The last woman has long brownish-reddish hair with bangs. She was of a thicker build and stood tall. Her eyes were a pretty brown that reminded me of a dark whiskey and wore a casual pair of jeans and a nice white button shirt rolled up to her shoulders. They radiated power and beauty, I froze.

"There's no need to freeze up, Ushio. Although it has been quite a while." said the woman with green hair. I think that was Sandersonia, she spoke with such an airy tone with her facial expression shocked but happy.

"She probably doesn't even remember us, but there's no question about it, that our Ushio." The brown-haired one said. I was pretty damn sure that was Marigold because of the stern tone. That meant Hancock was the one with black hair. Looking at her, I do believe why some would say she was the most beautiful woman in the world. Hancock continued to look at me until she took a deep breath.

"Ushio please sit down, I know it's been a while but Donia filled us in on what been going on with you. I just have a couple of questions for you and then I'll have one of the chiefs make you whatever you want, okay? Donia, get one of the maids to make a bed for Ushio. Any room will due," Hancock said and gestured to a group of chair surrounding a fireplace on the other side of the room. Donia left the room promptly and shut the door on her way out. I did as I was told and sat down on one of the chairs. I sunk in it and it hugged my butt and back in all the right places. It comforted me by a mile. I sunk deeper into the chair. Sandersonia laughed and came to sit next to me.

"Like them? I picked out all the furniture," she said and sunk into her chair as well. I nodded and a small smile spread across my lips. Marigold came and sat on the couch, back straight and shoulders square.

"Although it is the best for comfort, I'd admit they are not the best pieces for professionalism," Marigold commented. Sonia snorted.

"Yeah, it's not like tons of people come to our home office other than kujas." Sandersonia retorted.

"Girls we have better things to do than bicker about the furniture. Our niece is present and I highly doubt she very comfortable anyhow," Hancock claimed as she rose from her chair and walked over to where we sat. She sat on the couch next to Marigold and looked straight at me.

"Let's try and make it as less awkward as possible okay? I was informed that you have been living on your own for the last six years and that your shit bag of a father had just been paying the rent, leaving you the rest." Hancock said with high amounts of salt. I vaguely remember Aunt Hancock having zero chills when it came to my sperm donor of a father.

"That is correct," I said. Especially that part she said about him being a shit bag.

"And now you're illegally working in a tattoo shop under the alias that you're eighteen even though you don't turn eighteen until April?" Marigold commented.

"That is also correct," I said. Are they grilling me now? Shit, they're the fucking mob why are they grilling me?

"And walking to school now with the rare occasion that you drive a motorcycle that one of your male friends gave you?" Sandersonia asked.

"Yes, that is also true," I said quickly. Hancock made a growling sound and leaned back into her chair, the fire throwing the light and shadows across the room. She took a deep breath.

"Sister, remember your temper, I'm sure we can do something about this whole situation tomorrow morning when we're all well rested," Marigold suggested.

"Ushio, may I ask a few more questions before we retire for the night?" Hancock asked while taking deep breaths, I could see that she wanted to explode.

"You may," I rebutted. Hancock took a deep breath.

"Have you ever thought of living with us, in this house?" She asked. I wanted to be as honest as I could. My heart began to slow down and stop slamming into my throat.

"Yes, I have actually," I admitted. She stood up and reached out her hand for me. I took it and she pulled me up. She was a little taller than I was but up close I could see my mother is some of her facial features. She held both of my hands and looked me in the eyes.

"Do you still want to? We have plenty of room for you, and all the food you can eat." Hancock said, although she was still angry I could see that was trying to be gentle. 

Little did I know at the time but those words would eventually ring in my head and become the nails in my coffin.


	22. Black Boa

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A day of conversations and new beginnings.

Sandersonia escorted me to the room the maid had prepared for me. It was on the second floor and on the other side of the house. We entered the room was huge and it was gorgeous. 

"Of course the maid gave you this room," Aunt Sonia said. The room had marble floors and red brick walls with windows that had a jaw-dropping view. One entire wall was entirely made of clear windows overlooking the forest, the mountains, the ocean, and acres of land. It was gorgeous. The room had a metal spiral staircase that led to a loft where a giant bed lay with a T.V. mounted on the wall next to the bed. There was a pair of glass doors that led out onto a balcony large enough for some plants, a table, and some chairs. There was a vanity and a desk along the same wall you enter and the closet was to your left when you walked in. It was the size of my old room alone. There was so much space it baffled me. "This was your mom's room. She had that loft built herself.". I walked in went up to the metal ladder. It was cool to the touch, and Sonia followed me up to the ladder. There was a railing surrounding the edge of the loft made of stainless steel as a ladder placed horizontally. I slowly sat on the bed and the bed caved ever so slightly. It was a king sized bed with an expensive comforter, fluffy and white and it smelled like fresh cotton. I sunk deeper into the bed and hugged me again, in all the right places. Sonia sat next to me and put her arm around me and brought me closer to her into a hug. 

"I'm sorry we didn't adopt you when you were really younger. Your father had respect from everyone at the time and he would never have signed for you to be adopted. Now we could have a chance but last time we tried, he didn't leave a very pretty mess. I just hope now that can become your legal guardians." Sonia explained. She continued to hug me and say how sorry they were that they didn't find me years ago before the abuse. She even cried softly and told me that they always loved me and thought about me a lot. I hugged her back unable to speak, everything was changing so fast and so intensely. An hour later she left and told me to get some sleep and it will all be figured out in the morning. I slowly crawled into the sheets without complaint and the bed was so warm and soft. I felt like I was sleeping on a cloud. I soon fell into a deep sleep. 

-X-

The next morning I was awakened around nine by a maid. She was a large woman with masculine features and she wore a white button shirt loosely with casual jeans. Her brown hair was up in a large bun with a blue bandanna headband crossed at the center of her head. 

"Good morning Miss Ushio, how are you feeling this morning?" she asked as I blinked awake. It was weird to me to be woken up by someone who was considered staff. 

"I'm not quite sure..." I mumbled and the maid laughed happily. 

"I don't exactly blame you, after everything you've been through," she said and held out her hand. I took it and she helped me sit up. "I'm Sweet Pea by the way. Your aunts have sent me to collect you,".

"For what?" I asked. I looked around me and the sun was beaming into my room, everything was so bright and rose my hand to shield my eyes from the sun. I still wore the same clothes from yesterday, I just took off my pants that now laid on the floor. 

"Breakfast silly. I'm sure you're hungry." Sweet Pea said as she picked up the pants from the ground and handed them to me. At that moment my stomach decided now was a good time to growl. 

"Maybe," I said and Sweet Pea got me out of bed and down my little staircase. She helped me get to the dining area without me getting super lost. Sweet Pea was very patient with me the entire time and asked if I would even like some coffee when I got to the table. I think she noticed that I was still dead asleep in my brain. By the time we got to the table, I was convinced that she patients from a god. The dining room was on the first floor and the room was bright and open. And of course, it had a nice view. A table that was made out of a light colored wood sat on the floor in the center of the room. It was elongated and was very close to the ground. My aunts were sitting towards the end in their robes sitting on some cushions on the floor. A place was made for me next to Sandersonia. 

"Here you are, Ushio." Sweet Pea said as I sat down. 

"Thank you, Sweet Pea," I mumbled when I sat down. She smiled and nodded and disappeared behind a door on the other side of the room. I turned to my aunts and Sandersonia chuckled.

"You look a little rough right now, Ushio, did you get a good night's sleep?" she asked. I swayed.

"Yeah yeah, it's just, I catch up on all my sleep on the weekends and I don't wake up until two in the afternoon," I said. Marigold laughed.

"I remember having to do that. We would have let you sleep but there are important matters we needed to discuss before noon." Marigold stated. I made an "oh" shape with my mouth but didn't actually say anything. 

"Yes before any of that, I need my coffee. I hope you like crepes and fried eggs." Hancock said. Her hair was down and sprawled out everywhere. She looked terrifying tired. We made small talk until breakfast was brought out and it wasn't just crepes and fried eggs. It was Nutella crepes with whip cream, fried eggs that were very cheesy, and pineapple and strawberry as well as a huge glass of milk. I haven't had breakfast this big since that one time I got hungover at Marco's place with Ace and like a shit ton of people I didn't know. All their subordinates made us a greasy ass breakfast with pancakes, bacon, hashbrowns, and screwdrivers. 

"Alright let's get down to business. Do you prefer we call you Scarlet or Ushio? I noticed your flinch every time someone says Ushio." Hancock asked after she downed half of her coffee. I finished my bite.

"I feel more comfortable with Scarlet," I said weakly, stabbing at my breakfast with my fork. It busted the white wrapped yolk and unveiled the running yellow onto the plate. 

"Great, because I noticed that your school records have a preference name last night. It said you preferred Scarlet Boa rather than Ushio Ukama." Hancock said. I froze awkwardly and heat rose to my face, embarrassed. I really hope she wasn't mad. Sandersonia nudged me with her elbow.

"If you want we can get your name changed to that, you know," Sandersonia said raising her eyebrow with a smile. 

"Wait, like my legal name be Scarlet Boa?" I asked.

"Yes, that way you don't have to do shit with your father." Marigold. "Us adopting you and changing your name would cease any records or privileges that he has to you. Is this something you would be interested in?" Marigold asked me while biting into her breakfast. She carefully pulled the fork form her mouth and began to prepare for another bite of Nutella crepe.

"Yes, yes, please. Oh thank god," I said without hesitation letting my shoulders fall into myself. 

"That may mean you don't get any inheritance you know, from him that is," Sandersonia brought up sipping her orange juice. I drank my milk nonchalantly.

"It's not like I would get anything. I think he has to where I have to be married before I get anything. And only my husband can really have control over it. So yeah, I don't want anything from him," I said and took another bite of crepe. Damn this was a fucking good crepe.

"God he's such a shit bag," Hancock whispered and took a drink from her coffee. She was still holding her head with her hand on her forehead and the other hand rubbing her eyes. Occasionally she would stop to eat or hold her coffee mug. 

"Okay, so what are we going to do about your apartment? I understand if you want to live on your own rather than being here but we would much rather prefer a different apartment complex for you if you chose to be on your own." Marigold pointed out. Holy shit, that hit me like a brick in the head. Moving out? I know I fantasized about it a lot but actually being able to do it? I've spent the most important parts of my life in that apartment and I never really realized it until this moment that I will be moving out of there if I get adopted. But looking around, I did kind of want to live here. I mean it's really different and when I'm ready for college I could jump back into the apartment life but, not having to hear my neighbors stomp around or scream in the hallway? No shitty dishwashers that break in the middle of a cycle? Beds that feel like clouds? Somewhere away from the city? FINANCIAL SUPPORT AND FOOD? The idea of being in a different apartment complex did toy in my mind a bit, but I kind of just wanted to be with a family. I never really had a family. After my mom died, it was just me and my dad; and right after the funeral he became abusive and sent me out to the streets when I was twelve. I have always felt so...alone. When Ace came around sure things got better, I was practically never alone but I craved actual familiar bonds. 

"I think if you don't mind if I stayed here. Apartments kinda...ah...suck." I said looking down into my food.

"Of course you can stay here, apartments do kinda suck," Sandersonia said and smiled and nudged her elbow into mine. I smiled and Hancock finished her coffee. 

"Great now that that's settled. I imagine you don't want to confront your father about this, correct?" Hancock asked, her back now straightened and her the bags from under her eyes dissipating. Marigold wiped her mouth with her napkin and laid it down onto her plate. 

"I really rather not," I started playing with my last bites of food.

"So then we will get all of the paperwork done today and have it filed at the courthouse Monday. Until then, I need you to stay on the estate. Your father may retaliate and come looking for you, but you are on the estate you should be safe. All the staff can act as bodyguards if need be." Hancock explained. At first, I was surprised of the precautions and then I remembered that they were an organization, my father was a crazy asshole with military power, and I would bet my life that Sweat Pea could knock a man out with one hit. 

"Yeah I get it," I said as I finished my food. Hancock wiped her mouth and sat up.

"I imagine the confrontation with your father will not be brief therefore we will probably be gone for the rest of the day, if you need anything Daedonia will be somewhere and the staff is always willing to help," Marigold said as she got up. Sandersonia placed her hand on my shoulder.

"Just try and take today to relax. We have a hot springs bath with a bunch of self-care supplies. Oh, and the wifi password is Salome." Sandersonia said.

"Salome?" I asked, confused. 

"It's Hancock's pet snake, you've met him before but you very young. He has his own room on the second floor if you want to visit him," Sandersonia explained before getting up. Oh yeah, I do remember there being a pet snake. Hancock adored Salome despite him very dangerous. He was a white boa constrictor and one point, I wanted a Black Mamba. 

-X-

I spent the rest of the day on my ass, which was fucking great. And they weren't kidding when they said they had a hot spring bath. Motherfucker was huge with a T.V. in the corner. I started watching Hell's Kitchen and slipped into the spring. I think they put mineral water in there because I could feel my body melt. I put on a charcoal face mask they had laying around and some Epsom salt rocks into the water. I think they were imported from the Himalayas or something. I felt the stress melt away while Gordon Ramsay screamed at people without mercy. I sat there for two hours before I heard my phone start ringing. Luckily it was next to me beside the tub.

"Hello?" I answered without looking at my phone. I just pressed on the speaker button. 

"Hey, you feel like drinking tonight?" I was asked, it was Zoro. His voice echoed in the empty room an upbeat tone. I smiled at the sound without realizing it.

"Dude I can't this weekend. I'm at my aunt's place and I can't leave." I said sinking deeper into the tub. 

"What?! Two days ago you were telling me how you will probably not even see your aunts until you're eighteen," Zoro said, I laughed at what he said knowing that it was true and explained to him what happened. "So now you got a nice crib and you don't ever have to speak to your dad ever again? What a fucking set up! What about your apartment though?" 

"I have to move out, we haven't really figured out the details but come Monday or Tuesday I'll have to get my shit, probably," I said and groaned realizing that I had to probably move everything myself. 

"Well hell let me and Franky help with that. Maybe we can check out where you're staying," Zoro offered. I rose up from the tub and began to walk in the water, stretching my body out. 

"Uh, I think they have a strict no men policy," I said raising my eyebrows while lifting my arms and stretching them. I could feel my breast being lifted from the stretch and my body began to yawn at the feeling. The mask was just about ready to peel off.

"Then we'll drop your shit off at the door and gawk from afar," Zoro said, and I could hear his smile from the phone.

"That does sound very helpful...alright why not. Then we can get drunk after." I decided, almost giggling at the fizziness of being drunk soon. "Anyways, what are you up to right now?"

"Sitting with Luffy, Usopp, and Sanji playing video games at Luffy and Usopp's, why? What are you doing?" Zoro asked lazily. 

"I was just wondering about the sudden invitation to drink is all. And I'm taking a soak in my aunt's hot spring while watching Hell's Kitchen," I explained as I waded through the water.

"Your aunts have a hot spring? Oh, shit is this a bad time? I didn't know you were taking a bath," Zoro sounded a little apologetic but I heard screaming in the background. "No! Will you shut the fuck up! What the hell is wrong with you! I am not asking her that!".

"It's not like you can see me," I commented. 

"See you Monday or Tuesday then?" Zoro asked.

"Yeah, see you then, Zoro," I said and waded in the water to hang up the phone. A simple click and the call was shut off, giving the room back to voice of Gordan Ramsey. I switched the T.V. onto Spotify and the Neighborhood's "Afraid" took the room's silence. I slowly peeled off the mask, letting the dead skin cells and collagen rip along with it, leaving my skin bare and fresh. I could feel the emptiness of the pores and clean feeling that wafting my skin.


	23. I'm Not Scared Anymore

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After years of abandonment and trust issues, Scarlet confronts the source of it all without fear, finally letting herself grow and heal from the years of torment under his foot.

My aunts came home very late that night. It two or three am when I heard those voices whisper near my door. I was still up watching T.V. because it was a smart T.V. and I was mesmerized at how I could watch Netflix without hooking up a shitty ass laptop to it and was surrounded by junk food. It was a nice day to relax but my aunts sounded worried or even scared. I stayed glued where I was and eventually they left. The next morning I didn't wake up until noon and had left again. So I spent the day with Donia and she explained further about the situation. She said all of them showed up to my father's house unannounced and argued with him for hours. He almost called the cops like six times and tried to get physical with my aunts. They ended up putting his ass down on the ground and he made some really bad threats while he was on the ground. After hours and hours, he said he was willing to sign the papers on the condition that I would be there when he did. My aunts didn't want to take it and retreated back to the house. They were going to talk to me about it but they thought I had been through enough and wanted to spare me from it all, and that they left again today to try and get him to sign the papers. 

"All I had to do was show up??" I inquired. 

"Yeah but you said you didn't even want to look at him, and I think even being in the same room as he might give you some panic attacks," Donia claimed as we walked the grounds of the estate.

"Are they still at my father's???" I asked, stopping in my tracks.

"Yeah, they ate and left. I watch Hancock spike her coffee with some Irish cream, and honestly, I would have done the same." Donia stated. I looked at Donia and turned my heels and ran the other direction. Donia gave me some old clothes of hers to wear while mine was being washed. I was wearing a white tube shirt with ruffles and black skinny jeans. I still wore the same boots and was wearing an olive jacket I brought with me to work the other day. Donia started yelling after me but I ran my way back to the house. Donia brought my motorcycle back from the car garage today and gave the keys before we went on our walk. I ran through the house and out the front door to where my motorcycle was parked. I didn't even have my helmet but I put on some sunglasses that I had in my jacket pocket and started up my motorcycle. I got it started up as Donia came out the front door. "ARE YOU FUCKING CRAZY?". I looked back at her and shrugged. I veered around and shot off. When I got to the gates, I punched the shit out of the lock and my hand screamed, the gates unlocked and continued down the road.

I went off the path to put my dad's address in on google maps and it popped up. I revved the engine and shot off again. Donia's car was nowhere in sight. It was in the outskirts of the city in the complete opposite direction. Normally, it would have taken me thirty minutes, but I speed. I blasted through the city and not surprising, cops didn't pull me over. Once you go a certain speed, they don't even bother. Once I was back in the country, I flew like a bullet in the air piercing the wind that would dare to be in my way. Once I was able to see the manor, It was reckless and dangerous, but I veered off the path and didn't even bother taking the road. I could pass the gates that way, but I darted past trees and rocks and eventually gravel. I went faster and didn't stop until my tires hit the pavement. I stopped abruptly and my tires made a horrible screeching sound. I got off my bike, my ears and face burning from the wind a half deaf. I was at the back door. And the back door was always unlocked. Seeing the white manor before me with all the beautiful white flowers crawling up marble columns made me want to puke chunks. But I was too pissed for that. The gardeners working on the garden looked at me like they were seeing a ghost. I haven't been to this house in years. I walked up to the decorative French style double doors and threw it open as hard as I could. It smashed into the wall and the knob created a hole in the wall. I made my first step inside the tile floors still smelled like lemons. I thought I could hear screaming earlier but it stopped. I took more steps and passed through the kitchen. It looked rarely used. It had the same white marble counters and expensive looking stainless steel appliances that were too sleek and too clean. The marbling in the house was still there but there used to be holes, but of course, he had them covered up. I could hear stomping from upstairs so I went into the living room where all the furniture was brand new and the fireplace made of white brick was burning and started going up the golden trimmed staircase. Down the hall on the second floor, I could hear screaming and I quickened my pace. The door was slightly ajar and I made my way to it. My aunts were seated around him, but Hancock was standing throwing insults at him.

I walked in and the room went quiet. Hancock, Sandersonia, and Marigold stared at me in disbelief but went silent.

"Ushio-" he began to say, looking surprised and began to stand. 

"Shut up," I snapped. His black hair was ruffled and his eyes were cold. His tie was ajar and his white button-up shirt was opened slightly. His knuckles were bandaged and he continued to look at me behind the desk. "Just sign the damn papers, shit bag.". I sat down in a chair that no one was occupying and I didn't take my eyes off him. 

"After everything I've done for you? You want to run off, with these whores?" he snapped. Hancock went from looking at me to looking at him and her eyes raged. I grabbed her hand and made her look back at me and she understood what I was trying to say. It was my turn to speak.

"Only thing you've ever done was throw me around and pay my rent. I'm surprised you didn't keep me around just so you can see blood on the floor," I retorted. He stood up, squaring his shoulders and looked down on me. 

"Excuse me young lady-" He began to say but I was still enraged. I let go of Hancock's hand and balled my fist. I got up and let Hancock take my seat. 

"Or what? Are you going to start beating me again? Tell me how worthless I am and how I'll end up just becoming someone's whore? As you can clearly see I am not in the mood for a grown ass man to be throwing a tantrum because he's not getting his way." I spat rubbing my temples. I closed my eyes and pinched the bridge of my nose. I don't why I was being so confident but normally I would have a panic attack before he entered the room. I was so scared of for so long, that fear ran my life, and it still does. But it doesn't have to be this way. I have no reason to fear him any longer. He stood there and I could feel his anger radiating off of him. His office was still the same. Ashwood desk and hutch and a white leather chair fit enough for a king. His medals were hung up on the wall as well as certificates and awards lining the borders of the room. A blue shag rug was placed on the ground to give the room a pop of color I suppose but the last one was white. He had to throw it away after someone got blood on it. 

"What the hell makes you think you can talk to me like that?" he seethed. I cut my eyes at him but said nothing. "ANSWER ME USHIO ALEXANDRIA UKAMA." he screamed. I just looked at him and he took a step forward. My aunts shot up from their seats and got between him and I. His gaze burned through them but I no longer felt scared. I was so close, so close.

"Sign the fucking papers, Ukama. She's here liked you asked. It's over," Hancock said. I saw his hands move and I jumped up and landed on his desk. Luckily, he had a fraternity bat hanging up near me. I grabbed it and jumped again before he could grab me. I swung the bat and missed. I landed on the floor and rolled. My aunts jumped him and he screamed. Once he was on the ground I got up and went for him again, I came down with the bat and made contact with his head. It didn't knock him unconscious but he sustained an injury. His head started bleeding. 

"Just sign the fucking papers!" I yelled. "Why do even still want me? You never wanted me!" I hit him again in the stomach. He took it and coughed up blood. For a minute he just slouched there coughing blood before he looked up at me. 

"Because you're the only piece of your mother I have left," he said. Blood was dripping out his mouth and I could tell he tried to smile. I didn't buy it. 

"Oh bullshit," I said and hit him in the stomach again. He coughed up a lot of blood this time. 

"Don't knock him unconscious! Marigold, get the papers!" Sandersonia said. Marigold got up and I slammed my foot down on the arm she was holding down and briefly to get the papers and came back with them and a pen. Marigold gave them to Hancock. I still had the bat raised. 

"Sign it Ukama, you can stop this now. You'll only make things worse if you don't," Hancock said and laid them out in front of him, she gave him the pen. He held the pen in his hand that I had pinned down and stared at the papers. He looked up at me and I couldn't see any emotion in his eyes. He looked back down at the papers that Marigold held in front of him and signed them.


	24. Cherry Ties and Slow Jams

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Franky and Zoro help Scarlet move out of her apartment and makes a deal between them without knowing about Scalet's and Ace's recent relationship.

When we got back to the house, the door was slammed behind me and I felt fear crawl up my spine. I turned to my aunts and they were just glaring at me. 

"To the menagerie, now." Aunt Hankcock ordered and strode her way there, leaving only anger and the clicking of her heels against the marble floor with and me following her. We walked to the back of the house in silence as the awkwardness and anxiety creeping up my neck like a prickling spider. Hancock threw the iron doors designed as wood with gusto and strode inside. The heat of the room stuck to my body and a plant knocked into my face while I walked inside. The weird greenhouse room had a glass ceiling and covered three acres of land inclosed into a jungle environment. A large white pink snake slithered to the door and greeted Hancock with a smile. She smiled and picked him up and turned to me after sitting in a large bed with curtains placed in the middle of the room. I could hear her heels click against the stone walkway, careful not to step in the dirt that outlined the mossy stone as she cooed at the snake and then turned her attention towards me. I clinched up and she let me have it. She scolded me on how reckless I was, how horrible my driving was, and how I could have compromised the entire situation. Once she finished chewing my ass out, they did admit watching me beat the shit out of him with a bat was pretty nice. Salome even came over to me and licked at my face, as if trying to comfort me from my scolding. He crawled up my body and hung from my neck like he would comfort Hancock.

"I see he still remembers you," Marigold commented while her own brown cobra slithered up her leg. Marigold and Sonia sat at a table near the bed sipping at the tea that Sweet Pea had brought then earlier while they held their own snakes. Sonia was giggling at the python that would tickle her ear. 

"Hmm, we have baby pictures of Salome holding you and wouldn't let anyone but us take you away. It was adorable," Sonia told and my ears perked up.

"Wait, how old is Salom?" I asked as I scratched his neck. He flicked his tongue and slithered back to Hancock.

"He's about as old as you are, the vet likes to say he'll probably live until he's thirty-five," Marigold said I looked more into the room. I had never been in the room before but from what I had been told it was one of the few private menageries that let the animals inside roam around. They would rescue exotic animals who were sick and take care of them. There was to be more addition to land soon to come. I could hear the sounds of birds the whistle of tree leaves dance. Then I heard movement behind me, a quick rustle of bushes and I jumped up and rolled from the seat I was sitting in. I turned my body around and looked up and my jaw dropped. Black stripes over a gorgeous orange body of muscle. The wild cat looked at me with eyes that reminded me of what I saw in the mirror or in a picture of me.

"YOU HAVE A TIGER?!" I yelled looking at my Aunts but they merely sat where they were. The tiger put a powerful paw in front and I saw the muscles in its body move to advance on me. I stood up and widened my stance, planting my feet firm on the ground. I straightened my back and stretched out my arms, making myself look bigger. The tiger hesitated but came towards me. I looked back at my Aunts but they just continued to sit there. I looked up at the tiger and it was already almost on me. I moved my leg but the tiger was faster and tackled me to the ground. I yelped but the tiger didn't rip into me, it licked my face and purred, rubbing its face against mine. 

"That's Lily, she came in last week and is just barely eleven years old," Hancock said while cuddling Salome. "She seems to really like you,". I sat up slowly while the tigress was still on me. I looked into her eyes and her eyes were really like mine, I felt familiar with her. I reached up to my hand and rested it on her head and she purred even more as I began scratching. Lily rubbed more into me and I began to laugh. I scratched more and Lily seem to smile and roll over, exposing her white belly. I laughed and rubbed it like you would a cat. I looked back at my aunts and they were all smiling as I played with Lily. 

Later, Donia even took me to the liquor store and let me pick whatever the hell I wanted. I got a bottle of black spiced rum called Kraken and some Patron, Jack Daniels Tennessee Honey, Taka vodka, and even some wine coolers. It was a nice big bill but Sandersonia may have slipped us a hundred dollars. 

-X-

With music playing the next day Zoro and Franky helped me pack up everything in my apartment. I didn't bother asking Ace since Marco told me they were still on a mission for Whitebeard. I put all the furniture online to sell and took only what I needed. Which ended up being six boxes in total. I wore an old black tank top that had "R.I.P. Innocence" on it that a couple of holes in it. With torn up indigo jeans and an old red jacket, I was prepared to leave this place behind. I ended up giving Franky the coffee table and the couch. He said he was slowly furnishing a house that he inherits so he could live there during college. 

"It's an old fraternity or sorority house. My grandpa's parents bought it after the greeks got shot down and banned from the campus. It has like seven bathroom and four bathrooms. I'm hoping we could pull in money to renovate it since it's from the 1950s." Franky explained. 

"Better than being stuck in a dorm with tons of restrictions." Zoro pointed out.

"Well if we end up at the same college, I honestly see why not," I said and reached into the fridge grabbing a thing of cherries. I tossed Zoro the key. He caught it while still carrying a box.

"I'm going downstairs right quick. There's a soda machine, you two want anything?" I asked.

"COLA!!!!" Franky yelled excitedly and I laughed.

"Zoro?" I asked and the song switched to "Burn" by Marnik.

"Huh?" he asked and I was taken back. He looked like he dozed off and just snapped out of it. A minute ago he was fine...

"Do you want anything from the vending machine, moss head?" I asked again. 

"Oh!" Zoro realized, his eyes dotted around in thought. "Just like a blue Powerade or something,".

"Okay, be back shortly then," I said and walked out the door.

 

ZORO POV:

"Still in la la land?" Franky asked me as he set a box down on the coffee table. He sat down on the couch. 

"Shut up," I said and sat my box down too. I walked over to the couch and sat next to him. Franky spread his arms out and relaxed them on the back of the couch. He cocked his head and stared at me. "What?". Franky slitted his eyes.

"Think I should ask Scarlet out?" Franky asked. I widened my eyes and I snapped my head to look at him. My brain ran on instinct mode but couldn't comprehend what the fuck Franky was suggesting. 

"WHAT?!" I reacted. Franky's eyes widened and a smile cracked along his lips.

"Holy shit, I fucking knew it," Franky said almost laughing.

"Knew what?!" I asked. My heart rate was nearly through the roof.

"You have a crush on Scarlet!!" Franky said, giving me the finger guns.

"What the fuck are you talking about?" I spat out. I could feel my face heat up. 

"Oh this is fucking gold," Franky said laughing. 

"I don't have a crush on Scarlet!" I retorted.

"Oh cut the shit, yes you do. What's holding you back from asking her out?" Franky asked. My heart began to calm down, I slowly came back down. I put my elbows on my knees and put my head in my hands. I ruffled around my hair and took a deep breath.

"She loves Luffy's brother Ace," I admitted. "If I asked her out Luffy would hate me,".

"No, he wouldn't. If anything, he would be rooting for you, bro." Franky said. 

"You say that but it still doesn't change the fact that they have history and have feelings for each other," I explained. The song had changed.

"Does she know? About how you feel?" Franky asked.

"No, god I hope not," I said. "That would just make things awkward.".

"Yeah but I think you should tell her bro. Weren't you there when she and Ace fought at the Halloween party? And I know you only have one eye but you must be blind as shit not to see that she care about you. Hell, you shoulda seen her freak out when you had to go to the hospital. Almost completely ignored Ace." Franky said.

"Who told you that?" I asked.

"Chopper did," Franky said in a matter-of-fact tone. There was a moment of silence before Franky took a very loud deep breath. "Ok look, I'll cut you a deal.".

"What?" I asked confused.

"I understand you need to see in your own time if she likes you or not, but you need to promise me something," Franky promoted.

"Ok, what is it?" I asked.

"You have to tell her before the last day of the school year. Or I will." Franky said. I sat there and thought. 

"And you won't say shit until then?" I inquired.

"Not a fucking thing," Franky promised. I started to bounce my knees and bit my lip.

"I don't have much of a choice do I?" I asked. Franky put his hand on my shoulder.

"You're my bro, but she is also my little sis dude, and I want nothing but good times for the both of you. And I feel like together you guys can be way happier. You just have to take the leap, okay?" Franky informed me.

"Okay! Sorry, it took fucking forever. Fucking Kalifa was standing there forever." Scarlet said as she came in. I looked behind the couch and she was standing there with three different kinds of drinks and a half-empty jar of cherries. You could see the cherry steams tied at the top. There were so many. "Whose ready to get back to work?".


	25. Future Fires

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Scarlet and Ace go out on a date and Bonnie finds out about their relationship.

*NSFW WARNING*

 

"Hello?" I spoke on the phone. 

"Did you move out?!" Ace asked, confused. 

"AW SHIT! I forgot to tell you I got adopted by aunts and moved in with them," I announced. It was a week later and all the papers were signed. Court had already approved the name change and was officially Scarlet Boa. Normally the court takes months and months but I guess having money makes people get what they want faster. I took my mom's room and started decorating it with random posters. Although none of the stuff I had was enough to fill up the room.

"Oh shit! Babe, why didn't you tell me sooner?! I could have helped you move out! I know that I've been away for a while but damn, moving out is pretty big," Ace reasoned and I felt guilty for not telling him. I wasn't good at being a girlfriend very much considering how my last relationship went. I then brought up the large amounts of alcohol I now had. He had a sudden idea that we should have a New Years party, he had a beach and everything. 

"You invite Luffy and his crew and I will invite ours," Ace said. I was a little taken back by this. Luffy's crew? Ours? The only crew I sorta belonged to was Luffy's. I wasn't a whitebeard, nor do I think I will ever be. I never felt like I belonged with the whitebeards considering that they don't have a single female member. I never even met Whitebeard and I don't think I ever will considering his crew can be classified as an organized crime organization that's more than a thousand strong. Yeah, I don't think I would belong being the only "daughter" instead of "son". If you were a son of Whitebeard, you were part of the mob. Not that I could really talk being a legitimate daughter of a deceased mob leader, and now that my aunts run it and it's only grown. 

"Yeah, okay." I said and let it go. 

"All right sweet! I already got you a bomb as Christmas present so you better be ready to be shook, you hear?" Ace told me excitedly. I couldn't help but smile at his enthusiasm.

"Not if you're too shook from my gift," I said. I didn't have a gift, fuck.

"Babe, just being able to see you is enough, how about we meet up? Are you busy right now?" Ace asked and I looked around to where I was. I had nothing really to do today, I was just drawing at my desk when he called.

"You say that but I'm still getting you a gift, and no, I'm not doing anything today," I explained and continued to sketch. 

"Do you think you can meet me for dinner then? There's a nice place I was thinking about when I was away," Ace informed me. My smile widened at the thought of a date with Ace. 

"Sure baby, where did you have in mind?" I asked, and within five minutes he sent me the address. I put on neutral shades of eyeshadow and winged eyeliner. I colored my lips a dark red and left with a tight pair of black jeans and a white strapless top. I covered it with a black leather jacket and hit the road about two hours later. When the GPS said that I have arrived, I pulled into the parking lot of Don Don's Steakhouse. I parked my bike a bit of way from the entrance and slid off my helmet. The late afternoon wind found my hair and I slid the helmet into a compartment under the seat. Hearing my heeled boots click on the concrete gave me a new sense of power and helped me feel confident as I walked through the doors of the busy steakhouse. 

The place was loud and lowly lit, music I didn't recognize played on the loudspeakers and I looked around to see if I could find Ace. After walking in, I could see a waiting place with seating off to the side on the left. To my right, stood an arch leading into a party room with a large table in it. The host desk stood in front of me and two hostesses stood there holding menus. I could hear the milling about on the wooden floors and the murmur of conversations. I made eye contact with one of the hostesses and walked up to her awkwardly. 

"Did you see a man come in here with black hair and brown eyes? He's about six feet tall? Freckles?" I asked and both of the girls snapped their attention towards me.

"You're with him?" one stammered and the other whistle. 

"Of course he's with someone as pretty as you! Damn, lucky girl!" the other said. "Yeah, he came in earlier, right this way," and turned her heels to go. I followed her as we weaved through the eiles of the restaurant and in a booth by himself, Ace was looking down at his phone biting his lip. The hostess winked at me and nudged me toward him. "Go get him, girl," she whispered and left.

"Hey," I greeted awkwardly as I approached the table and Ace looked up from his phone and gave me a huge smile.

"Hey!" He stood up and towered over me, reaching his arms out for a hug. He was wearing a black button up shirt with an orange tie and his sleeves rolled up. He still had on dark jeans and a leather belt on, and black biker boots. I smiled and embraced him. I gave him a quick kiss on the cheek and sat down across from where he was sitting. His face was lit up red as he sat down and gave me a menu to look through. "So how have you been?" he asked as I took the menu and opened it.

"It has been, crazy honestly. I got adopted and moved into Amazon Lily at the same time," I commented and Ace's eyebrows lit up.

"Shhhhiiiiitttttt, I just remembered who you're aunts was," Ace said worriedly. 

"What's the concern about?" I inquired to him. 

"Oh fuck, if they found out I was division commander for Whitebeard, they might kill me," Ace whispered, slightly freaking out. 

"Babe, they won't. I promise, we were hanging out before I was even associating with them," I said, trying to calm him down.

"Scarlet, we fucked in your shower, if Whitebeard found out, he'd slap me and call me an idiot. And then you're aunts will murder me," Ace rationalized, his eyebrows furrowed upwards, clearly upset. I reached out my hand to him and wrapped my hand around his hand. I took a deep breath and looked him in his eyes. Ace wasn't scared of dying, he was strong enough to handle himself, he was scared of losing me. 

"Baby, it's okay, Whitebeard might hit you upside the head, but my aunts won't care. They're not against sex, its just men they don't like," I explained.

"I'm a man!" Ace whispered at me, widening his eyes. I rolled my eyes and looked around the restaurant. No one seemed to be paying us any attention and no one was really seated in our area, we may as well be alone. I leaned in the table and reached out my hand to Ace's tie. He looked up at me surprised but I slid my fingers behind the tie and pulled his head closer to mine and pressed my lips onto his. I held him there and pushed my tongue into his to make my statement more powerful.

"I am well aware that you're a man, babe. But I don't care about what they think, they won't touch you, I promise," I whispered into the wind between us. His eyes dropped at me and the iris glazed over, turning something in him off and another on. 

"Baby," his words dripped and I let go of his tie and sat back into my seat. 

"Now, is there anything that you think you would want?" I asked holding up the menu, smirking. Ace snapped out of his daze and a smirk curled on his lips as he sat back down. 

"Yeah, she's sitting across from me," Ace purred.

-X-

We got the rancher's flight that had four different kinds of steak cuts that we ended up sharing a bottle of wine together. We walked out of the steak house holding hands, smiling in the cold December night wind. The parking lot was almost empty and Ace walked me to my bike, letting go of my hand once I was on the bike. 

"Hey, babe?" Ace asked before putting on my helmet.

"Yeah, what's up?" I inquired.

"I'm going to be staying in town for a while if you want to come with me. I'm kind of crashing at your old apartment tho since I still had a key," he explained, reaching for my hand again.

"Oh yeah, the lease is still good for a while since the paperwork isn't finished," I pointed out. "Wait, then what are you sleeping on?" 

"Oh, I have a palette set up in your room, I had time to collect blankets and by a foam pad and a mattress pad. Honestly, it's better than a dorm bed. It's like at least six inches thick," Ace explained timidly.

"Kind of like you," I whispered underneath my breath. 

"What!?" Ace asked, turning red.

"Oh nothing, anyway yeah, my aunts are gone and the house is super empty and it would be nice to spend one last night the apartment. I lived there for so long," I commented and Ace's face lit up.

"Alright! I'll meet you there then," Ace said excitedly. He leaned in and kissed me on the lips and drew away, licking his lips at their corners. He winked and turned his back to me and got in his mustang not too far from where I parked. 

I pulled into my old parking lot and didn't wait for Ace to catch up to me. I was already halfway up the steps before I heard his car lock and it made me run up the stairs faster. It was almost a game now, considering we raced here. Or least it might have been but the view of my ass leaning over in that seat probably stuck him behind me. I opened my door first and closed it, then locked it. I giggled and ran to the closet in my bathroom. I had locked the door to the bathroom just as he opened the front door and I heard him laugh.

"Playing hide n seak are we?" he whistled and I heard his footsteps against the wooden floor. I disappeared into the closet and waited to see if he would look here first. "Babbbbbbyyyy," he sang when he approached the bathroom door and jiggled the lock. I heard him laugh and pick the lock before entering. He stood outside the closet door and kept laughing as he opened the door and I quietly moved to be behind the door as he opened it. I stood behind the door as he looked into the closet and shook his head. Without a sound, I snuck behind him and slapped his ass as hard as I could and tried to run. "HEY!" Ace laughed and grabbed me from behind around the stomach and spun me around while laughing. I laughed as I tried to break free but he wasn't going to let me go. He sat down on the closet floor still holding me and laid me in his lap.

"Hey!" I teased but didn't waste any time returning the favor. One of his hands reached up under my shirt and grabbed my right breast. I gasped and he only squeezed harder, playing with it like it was a stress ball. His other hand went down my pants and underneath my underwear, sliding his fingers into me once more. I moaned and his mouth moved to my neck, kissing and licking down the side of it. 

"You're all I thought about when I was away, baby," He purred into my ear and made his hands work faster and his fingers deeper. I felt the bulge underneath me grow and become harder. When he was finished with my breast, he took my shirt off and my body was trembling. I reached behind me and grabbed him by his tie made him kiss me on the mouth. He slipped in his tongue as I loosened the tie and began to unbutton his shirt. I bit his lip and pulled away but he took his free hand and place it on the back of my head and pulled me back into him. He removed his fingers from me and unbuttoned my pants, then turned me around so that I faced him. I finished unbuttoning his shirt and he worked on taking my pants off while on top of him. When he flung them off of me, I laid back to reveal my new lacey black underwear. He whistled and brought his lips back to mine. "You're just teasing me now, aren't you?" he cooed and put his hands on my waist, and pulled me down on top of him. 

"It's fun to watch you squirm," I purred and moved my ass to create friction to his bulge. I waited until he tried to kiss me again before jumping off of him, leaving him on the floor, begging. Ace's face froze in shock but quickly curled into a sexy smirk. Before he could get up, I ran out and went into the kitchen and he was fast to follow. I smiled and looked into the fridge for anything good, but as I grabbed the bottle of rum, I felt a hard slap on my ass. I gasped and Ace picked me up once and put me on the kitchen counter next to the fridge while I still held the bottle of rum. I opened the bottle and gave it a swig raw, down my throat, it burned and left my throat warm. I handed Ace the bottle and he took a swig too, then put it on the stovetop carefully. Ace was smirking with his shirt unbuttoned and his tie and jeans gone. His hair was a disheveled mess and looked at me with a devilish grin. He pulled me closer to his bulge and he poked through his boxers. Without hesitation, he slid into me, pushing aside the lace underwear. I gasped and he didn't stop, thrusting with twice the strength than last time. He started to grunt and gasp, kissing my neck and biting at my lips and I could the taste the rum, staining his lips. 

"S-say my name," he gasped and picked me up to slam me down on the kitchen table. I trembled and wrapped myself around his back calling his name and calling him "baby". He kept grunting and huffing, punching the bottom of my stomach from the inside. He slid out fast and finished on the floor and my body limped, breathless. Ace started laughing and leaned on the table and started to try and catch his breath. I slowly sat up, trying to catch my own breath and put my left hand on his, holding it. Ace looked up and smiled at me, then he stood up and embraced me. 

"I love you," I admitted, rubbing head between his pecs. He squeezed harder and rested his head on mine.

"I love you too," he said back to me. We stood there, embracing each other and collected our breath. Ace stood back and I hopped off the kitchen table. I had left for Franky to pick up but it was clear that he hadn't. I looked around the apartment and it was so weird seeing it so empty. No hooks by the door, no T.V., no couch, no bed, no anything but what Ace put in the fridge when he arrived and the pallet he made. 

"It's so weird, seeing this place empty," I admitted, peering around the corner to my old bedroom.

"I thought so too, but it's better now that you're here," Ace said and picked up the bottle of rum he put on the stove top earlier, then drank some of the continents in it. I walked into the bedroom and realized I still had my shoes on. Leaning over, I zipped off my boots and tried to take them off. "Mhm," I heard Ace moan and put his hand on my ass, and started to handle the cheeks, digging into it with his fingers. I stood up and swatted his hands off me and laughed.

"Begone, thot," I said walked over to the bed in the middle of the room. Ace wasn't lying when it was a thick pallet. There were thick foam pads stacked up and a mattress pad wrapped around it for the base. There were six blankets them added to the base for more thickness and a comforter placed on top, and two pillows. 

"Come on, baby," Ace cooed and jumped into the bed. He lifted the rum bottle and tried to drink from it but ended up spilling it on himself. 

"Nice," I laughed and crawled under the covers. It was a nice pallet and it genuinely comfortable. I took the bottle from Ace and drank a large gulp and handed it back to him. I laid down next to him and he crawled under the covers with me.

"See? Didn't I tell you it was cozy?" Ace said and leaned into me to kiss me.

"Indeed, I believe you did," I said while our lips parted. He wrapped his arms around me and held me close to his chest. I smelled the rum he spilled and giggled, then I drug my tongue down his chest, where the rum was and his body trembled. 

"Hey! You can't do that!" Ace argued but didn't stop me. 

"Aw, and why not?" I bit back and looked up to see his face spread into a smile. The smile turned into a wicked grin and he tightened his grip on me. He flipped me on my back and hovered over me, looking at me with the grin from a devil. He leaned into my ear I felt his hot breath, and I reached back to start taking his shirt off.

"Because you find ways to turn me on more than anyone else, baby." He cooed in my ear and drug his lips across my cheek and to my lips. He lowered his hands and took off my underwear slowly, tugging the fabric and sliding it down my legs. His lips wouldn't leave mine and he slid his tongue into my mouth, while his hand still rested on my hips. He brought his hands back from taking off my underwear and put it back on my hip. Sliding off his underwear with my thighs, he brought his hands to my back and started to take off my bra. He flung it off and brought his hands back down to my hips, and slid himself into me. I gasped and the blankets fell off his back, no longer covering us. He started to push in deeper and deeper and kept kissing me while he grunted. Sliding my body my hips, he used my body to keep a stationary position on his knees and moved me onto him. I kept moaning and he huffed and grunted, and the only thing in this world was just him and I. He took a hand and slid it up my waist and up my breast, giving it a nice squeeze before reaching up for the crevasse of my neck and shoulder. I put my arms around his shoulders and held on the back of his head, returning the kisses and touches. 

"HOLY SHIT! OH FUCK!" a scream pierced through and Ace stopped dead. Our eyes shot open and fear eas etched into our pupils. I screamed and Ace threw the covers onto us and tore from my lips.

"BONNIE???!!" I yelled from under the covers. Ace was still on top, covering my body too.

"YEAH WHAT THE FUCK!" Bonnie yelled and my heat covered my face. "YOU HAVE SOME EXPLAINING TO DO BITCH! ACE, GET IN THE BATHROOM! I'm turned around!" Bonnie huffed and Ace looked down at me, his face red too. I nodded and he quickly kissed me and pushed off and wrapped himself in the covers, leaving me some and fled into the bathroom, shutting the door behind him. I pulled the covers up and sat up. Bonnie was turned around standing at the entrance of the room.

"How long has this been going on?! Why is this place empty?! I came in here ready to spill some tea and get drunk and instead I see a whitebeard back tattoo and you underneath it!" Bonnie yelled. She came into the room and sat down on the floor.

"About two and a half weeks, it kind of just happened. And I'm moving in with my aunts," I explained.

"AND YOU DIDN'T TELL ME?!" Bonnie yelled. Ace opened the door wrapped in the covers.

"YOU DIDN'T TELL HER?!" Ace yelled and I groaned.

"If I told you guys I forgotten to tell anyone, would you believe me? I just have been doing a billion things at once lately," I explained. "I'm really sorry," I apologized.

"Holy fuck, Scar, it's okay. I believe you, it's just weird that you guys are just now hooking up? So I guess this is official?" Bonnie asked, cooling down. 

"Yeah, I just forgot to mention it on the count of having a new job, moving out, moving out, my name being changed, and studying for finals," I explained. Bonnie got over and sat on the floor next to the bed, and next to me, and started to laugh.

"Damn, yeah, I see why it would slip your mind. It's like your life has been flipped upside down," Bonnie explained. "Ace, who have you told?". Ace came out of the bathroom still wrapped up and sat on the bed, his face was still red.

"Uhh, everybody???" Ace said awkwardly smiling and looking at me. My jaw dropped and Bonnie looked at him like he was stupid.

"Holy fuck that's a lot of people," Bonnie commented and I felt myself cringe. I took a deep breath and exhaled.

"That explains the wink emoji Marco sent me like a week ago," I said and Bonnie cringed.

"Oh that's fucking creepy," Bonnie commented. 

"I know, that's what I thought!" I agreed. 

"Fucking Whitebeard boys," Bonnie groaned, and I rolled my eyes.

"Believe me, I know," I breathed angerly and Bonnie stood up, then dusted herself off.

"Well, you would know more than I do since you're fucking a division commander. I won't tell anyone about this but I actually came over here to tell you that Kidd is pissed and is looking for you," Bonnie warned. An angry yell escaped my throat and frustration took hold of my head. 

"WHAT DOES THAT PIECE OF SHIT WANT THIS TIME?!" I raged.

"Probably what he's getting," Bonnie said and pointed at Ace. "But I'm pretty sure he remembers where this apartment is so I would get the hell out of here. Imagine if he caught you two instead of me,". 

"Well, guess I should just head to Amazon Lily, no way is he getting in there," I said and Bonnie nodded.

"I rather not Scarlet, we can head to the Whitebeard building, where I personally command like a hundred men." Ace brought up.

"Yeah Kidd likes to bring people with him, and his crew has gotten bigger so I would just stick with Ace, honestly. Amazon Lilly is a great place, but you would be alone other than the staff." Bonnie brought up and picked up my underwear and tossed it to me. I grabbed them and swiftly weaved them through my legs and reached for my bra. Ace even started to put on clothes. 

"Plus, I really rather be with you if someone is coming after you, I know you can handle yourself but still, it would make me feel better," Ace reasoned as slid on his underwear and shirt. 

"Okay fine, Bonnie, are you coming with then?" I asked. 

"Fuck no, I don't want to walk in on you two again, I can never unsee that. I'm just going to head back home where there are eight other people," Bonnie said and turned to leave. "See you guys, later!". She left relatively quickly the embarrassment crept back up to my face. 

"Oh my god, she saw us," I said covering my face. Ace leaned over and took my hand from my face and placed it along the side of his face.

"She saw more of me than you, you know," Ace said and leaned into me, our lips kissing again. "Come on, I really don't want to run into Kidd and his gang here,".

"Okay, he's not that much of a threat though," I reasoned, remembering how he was. 

"I'm worried about him, I'm worried about who he will bring. One of him is perfectly fine, but five of him? That's what I'm worried about." Ace admitted and handed me my shirt and pants. I accepted them and put them on silently while Ace stood by the door, watching to see if anyone would come in. Once I was changed, Ace and I left the apartment as silently as possible.

-X-

The Whitebeard camp was a forgotten victoria mansion outside out the city down an elaborate set of dirt roads. Ace forged through each road like he knew every rock and every turn without slowing down. Once we reached the black, steel gates before the mansion, Ace slowed the car to talk to the two guards in guard boxes on either side of us.

"Oh hey, Ace, what's going on?" One guard inquired, looking up from his set of survalience T.V.s.

"Just lets us in Roch, oh and if Eustass Kidd and his crew try to roll in, let me know and I'll take care of them," Ace said tiredly. 

"Okay yeah, hey Scarlet! Happy for you two," Roch said before opening the gate for us.

"You even told the guards?" I asked once Ace drove forward into the driveway. Ace's faces turned a little red and he tried to find a place to park.

"I got really excited, I was really happy okay?" He said, almost embarrassed about it.

"That's so cute," I giggled and Ace parked and rolled his eyes and parked near the house.

"Come on, there's a room we can crash in here," Ace said and opened his door and crawled out. I giggled and got out of the car with and looked up at the mansion. It was painted blue and towered three stories above us. Two spires on each side that covered to two porches that wrapped around the house and windows that illuminated the dark through their white curtains Ace walked up to the wooden steps that lead to two white wooden doors with golden whales screwed on as the knockers to the house. An electronic lock was unlocked and Ace gave a thumbs up to the guards not too far from us. I walked up to Ace and he opened one of the doors and entered the house. The place was loud on our right there was a dining room with dark wood dining set big enough to seat thirteen. To left was an arch that leads to a room with a pool table and a bar placed in the back. In front of us were stairs made of dark wood and a long hallway that lead to the kitchens and the master bedroom. 

"Well look who the hell it is!" Marco called from the pool room and walked over to us with a pool stick. His face was flushed and his purple shirt was unbuttoned once again. 

"Marco! Hey man!" Ace said and went over to hug him. Marco waved to me and kept smiling. 

"Hey Marco, I see you're doing fine," I said Marco brought me into their hug.

"You know, you know that I am just...so happy for...you guys, oh my god. HEY BOYS! IT'S ACE AND THE GIRL HE WON'T SHUT UP ABOUT!" Marco called and laughed. He broke away from the hug tripped over the rug, but Ace caught him before he fell down. 

"Hello Miss Scarlet," said Izo as he approached me and held out his hand to shake. 

"Hey, Izo, I trust you're doing well," I said, returning the handshake. Izo commanded the sixteenth division and liked to cross-dress. Today, he painted his lips a bright red and wore a purple skirt and a pink off the shoulder tight shirt. His black hair was done up in a Japanese styled bun and his eyeliner was a basic arch.

"Not as well as you, unfortunately. I'm happy for you two," Izo said and smiled. 

"Bro, I think you had too much," Ace said holding Marco up, who whacked him in the head with the pool stick in return.

"No! You've had too much!" Marco argued.

"That's doesn't even make sense!" Ace retorted and I rolled my eyes.

"Care to explain why you dropped in after the old man went to bed?" Haruta explained, approaching me. I sighed and looked at Ace, who shrugged and awkwardly smiled.

"You remember Eustass Kidd?" I asked, Izo and Haruta groaning. "Yeah, he's looking for me so we got the hell out of my apartment," I informed. Haruta had cropped brown hair and wore a green t-shirt and white pants.

"Well, he's not getting through those gates, so you might as well have a drink and turn in for the night," Vista called from behind the bar. He smiled at me and I chuckled. Vista was wearing a white button down that had five buttons undone, his black mustache gleamed with hair gel as they curled to a point. He towered over the bar as he poured a golden liquor into a glass.

"I think I will, actually," I said and walked over to the bar.


	26. Corrupted

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A New Year's Party leads to unfortunate news and more disasters.

*NSFW WARNING*

 

"Hey, babe," Ace cooed in my ear, drawing back to the Earth. I groaned, slowly opening my eyes to the dark room.

"Whaaa?" I slurred and Ace laughed.

"Come on, it's time to wake up," Ace said and I felt his mouth brush the base of my neck.

"Five more minutes," I pleaded but Ace wouldn't let me have it. 

"Baabbby..." he purred and I laughed.

"Yes?" I asked wistfully. Ace smiled and leaned in more, pressing his mouth against mine and his morning wood against my very inner thigh.

"You're so addicting, do you know that?" Ace said smiling.

"Okay, I up," I complied and he pulled me into the bathroom and shared a shower with me. 

"Okay hang on, just stay there and close your eyes," I said Ace complied. I took the shampoo and ran it through it soggy hair, pulling it up and to a point until he had a wicked mohawk. I started to laugh and Ace peeked out to see in in the mirror.

"Okay, that's awesome," he said turning his head on either side. He then stuck out his tongue and gave me the horns with his fingers. I laughed even harder. He drew me closer and hugged me in the shower, and kissed me passionately, smiling behind the kiss. 

"Beautiful," he told me in between another kiss. We left shortly afterward, after saying goodbye to everyone and passing through the gates. When we drove twenty minutes down some of the dirt roads, Ace pulled off the side of the road and looked at me with a devilish grin. I looked up from my phone and saw his grin and started laughing, looking around I knew just what he was getting at.

"Oh my god, really?" I asked, laughing. Ace put the car in park and turned to look at me more, holding his hand out.

"Okay look, it's a new car-," Ace started stopped halfway to laugh too, grinning like a fool. "And it's something that I really wanted to try and I just want to ask if it is okay for us too since you know, my birthday is soon and it's something new and all-," he argued but I let out a howl of laughter.

"YOUR BIRTHDAY NOW?!" I laughed, barely containing myself. Ace's face was turning red but he held his smile.

"Can we? Like is it okay?" He asked, biting his own lip and I rolled my eyes.

"Okay, fine! We can give it a try," I agreed right as I finished my sentence, Ace's lips met my own and he crawled into the backseat while pulling me him. Smiling between each kiss and laugh, he removed my pants and slid my panties off to the side while I took off his pants. He laid me on my back and grabbed at my thighs, pulling them into my stomach and got between them. Pushing himself into me, my whole body trembled and I gasped. He went further in and started to hit what felt like the bottom of my stomach, pulling and pushing slowly. I was gasping and moaning the force behind his thrust started to fog the car and shake it. He grunted and went in harder, and harder. I was screaming and felt every inch, heat spreading all over my body and called out his name between his kisses. Slamming me into the back door, he only slowed down when he was about to finish. He let go of my thighs and placed his hands on my hips, bringing my body to him and went in even deeper. I finished before he did and he pulled out quickly, careful not to the finish in the seats but the floorboards. My thighs laid back on the seat and my body refused to move, light and sweet feelings warming my body. Ace slammed his hand on the top of the window above my head as he tried to catch his breath, still on top of me. In between the breaths, his mouth would find mine and would only stop kissing them if he needed to breathe.

"I love you, Scarlet," he said between the breaths and kisses. I smiled and kissed him back.

"I love you too, Ace," I said, nuzzling his nose with his.

-X-

After a week or so after I saw Ace, I borrowed a truck that a hopeless suitor got Hancock (she told me to wreck it for all she cared as long as I was ok) and I set out for Christmas presents and supplies. I got Robin two books on Nordic history and architecture. I got Bonnie a bottle of jack and a piercing for the septum. For Donia, an armrest for her chair at work and a sappy romance novel (she was secretly a perv). Ace, I got a nice laptop because his last one somehow caught on fire. For my aunts, thank you cards for adopting me and these beauty stress relief gift baskets I found. Everyone else in the crew was pretty simple, books for Chopper and Sanji, make up for Nami, international cola subscription for Franky, a shit ton of hot chocolate packets and decorative swords for Luffy and Usopp. But Zoro actually took thought. Lately, every time I thought about him my stomach and chest would go crazy. Like lightning would shock me all over. And I felt so calm and safe when I was around him. Like no matter what, he would had my back. I had no idea what the fuck was going on with me, I was with Ace. But as I sat in front of it in the music shop, I found myself so impulsed to buy it. I thought of him as soon as I saw it. It was perfect, even if it was expensive. I knew he would probably not get me a gift, but somehow I didn't care. I just hoped he liked what I got him. It was a black and green marbled bass guitar. It was so smooth and glossy but so badass looking.

I got the supplies for the party that I was supposed to get and Ace said that he would get his part. I retreated back to my room with all my stuff and tried wrapping it all myself. I wasn't good at it and had to look up videos on youtube on the exact proceedings to do. It took me the rest of the day but somehow by the time I was done, it didn't look like a five-year-old had done her best.

-X-

"GOOD MORNING LOVE!!!" a voice yelled in my ear and blankets were ripped off of me. I looked up to see it was Sandersonia at the foot of my bed with Marigold.

"Whaaa-" I started to say.

"NO TIME! It's Christmas!!" Sandersonia said. Marigold grabbed my leg and pulled me out of bed and lifted me, then swung me. I screamed.

"Merry Christmas love!" Marigold laughed. I was still screaming as the entire room just blurred. Marigold set me down but I wobbled after my entire world spun, it left me dizzy.

"Merry Christmas to you too," I managed to speak.

"Well come on! I bet it's been a while since you've had an actual Christmas, huh?" Sandersonia said.

"Not one with family, no," I admitted. They escorted me down my loft and down into the living room. Where my breath was sucked out of me upon sight. A huge Christmas tree was decorated from the top to bottom. And the presents underneath covered the floor. Presents littered everything under it. Hancock was sitting on a couch near the hoard of presents when she looked up from a card.

"Scarlet!" Hancock said and got up as I walked down the stairs. "Merry Christmas," she said and hugged me once we met on the stairs. My eyes started to sting and I did tear up a little. I felt so wanted and so loved, I didn't know how to handle it. I embraced my aunt.

"Come, we did our best picking out presents for you," Sandersonia said as she put her hand on my shoulder. Marigold then guided me to one of the couches and sat me down. The gave me a cup with a little plate underneath it of hot cocoa.

Then the presents started rolling in. I have never had this many presents. All wrapped in colorful wrapping paper and bows. I was almost giddy. From aunts, I got a bunch of clothes and gift cards. At one point, I unwrapped a huge box with smaller boxes in it and they got smaller and smaller until an envelope was all that was left. I opened it and had a heart attack. I jumped up and started coughing and could barely breathe. In the envelope was a motorcycle key. I looked at my aunts. They nodded at me and pointed to the front door. I ran out there as fast as I could. And in front of the door...was a van? I could hear my aunts start to laugh. I looked back at them and I heard the van start to move, I snapped my head and slowly I saw it. It was beautiful. I dropped to my knees and started balling. Ugly tears rolling down my cheeks and falling onto the ground below me. My aunts rushed to my side asking what was wrong. Standing before me was the newest model of the Kawasaki Ninja painted black and red. I was weeping, full on weeping.

"It's so beautiful...why?!" I asked in between the sobs.

"Well, we figured you wanted a motorcycle and that bundle of bolts won't be able to make it very far. So we got you this," Sandersonia explained.

"We had to ask a couple of our biker lilies for their opinions on a good motorcycle and they said this was what they all wished they had," Marigold explained but I was still crying.

"Thank you, Aunt Marigold, Aunt Sandersonia, and Aunt Hancock thank you so much," I wept. They took my hands and made me rise to my feet.

"Come on, as soon as breakfast is over you can ride it wherever you want," Hancock said and brought me inside.

I had more presents, all from my friends. I got how-to-draw books from Donia and Robin and another piercing from Bonnie. Zoro got me some guitar picks and "Moss Head and Big Bro" got me an amp. But when I opened Ace's, the waterworks nearly came back. It was a black and red electric guitar. It was beautiful and the sickest thing I ever have seen, it even marbled. He even sent me stickers to put on the guitar. One was a very pretty white lotus and another was a tiger lily.

My aunts ended up loving their gifts.

"Oh Jesus Christ this is exactly what I need," Sandersonia breathed. Because they were leading an organization rivaling the whitebeards, I figured they were stressed as hell. After Hancock unwrapped her gifts from the suitors they tried to impress her, she ended up donating them to a women's shelter. After breakfast (french toast, peppermint mochas, and sausage) I spent the next three hours riding my bike. It was smooth and elegant, I felt so lucky and just loved. Like everything was looking up and how I can finally live a good life without constant fear. I was finally living a life I always wanted.

-X-

Ace finally gave me directions to the beach and when I borrowed the trunk again, I was in awe. The beach was very hidden and in between two cliffs, and was far out enough you could see the city lights reflecting across the ocean from far away. The sand was fine and soft. After gazing for a while, I began to set up. A table here for snacks and alcohol and wood in the middle of the beach. I began to pile it up into a square, stacked like Lincoln Logs. When I was done, I was very impressed. The air was cold and crisp and the waves made a beautiful sound. I just had to appreciate everything around me. Eventually, 8 or 9 o clock rolled around and people started showing up. Everyone was dressed in warm coats and flannels. We sent out a joke saying it was hipster themed but some people took it seriously. And when Zoro and the crew showed up, my job dropped. Everyone was wearing flannel, beanies, fake piercings, and fake tattoos. Even Zoro. I saw him climb out of Franky's jeep with torn up black jeans and combat boots. My eyes rose to his torso, where he was wearing a thin white shirt with a green and black flannel and a black leather jacket that was placed over his shoulders revealing sleeve tattoos with interknit designs made of a black sharpie. But they looked so good. I kept looking up and Zoro had on silver hoops wear his normal piercings were, a fake septum and a gray beanie with his green hair spiked out. I kept throwing gasoline onto the wood but I was completely distracted. I have never been attracted to a fake hipster so much. He was a carrying two bottles of something, one in each hand. I looked away as I saw him walk with the others toward to fire that I was the lighting. 

"RED!!!" Franky yelled. He came up to me and hugged me, even picked me up. He was in hipster get up too. The crew caught up and surrounded me and hugged me thanking me for the gifts. Franky let me go and Zoro approached me. He held the two bottles out.

"For you," Zoro said. I took them and laughed. There was both a fifth of Taka Vodka that was cherry flavored.

"Hell yeah," I said. I smirked and looked up at Zoro. My heart skipped a beat. 

"You look pretty good tonight, who the fuck helped you?" Bonnie joked. I was wearing ripped up jeans where there were more holes than jeans. A red and black flannel, a white sleeveless top, and a beanie. I already had a piercing and did my make up after an Instagram model. Winged eyeliner and everything. I even wore gladiator boots. Everyone was their own hipster almost but it was fun watching everyone dress differently. Turns out Nami and Usopp helped everyone on their outfits. Usopp drew the tats, Nami put together the outfits. I had to applaud her. Around ten or eleven, Zoro and I walked the beach just talking and laughing.

"Hey, out of curiosity, why did you get me that bass?" Zoro asked. I struck by the question. I was halfway done of my first bottle.

"Honestly? I don't know. I saw it and I immediately thought of you, like I just thought it was perfect," I said.

"It was," Zoro said and stopped. 

"Was what?" I asked and stopped too. I was a little drunk since I and Zoro were sharing the bottle. He leaned in a little closer so we were standing really close. We were almost already done with the second bottle and were stumbling all over the beach drunk. And I was waiting for Ace to arrive considering his birthday was in a couple of hours. 

"Perfect. It was perfect. The best gift I have ever received. Thank you, Scarlet," Zoro said. He was a little drunk too and I laughed.

"I'm sure you've gotten better," I said looking Zoro in the eyes. I could feel the cold nip at my cheeks and hear the waves. Everything was so beautiful. Zoro grabbed my hand.

"No, Scarlet. I'm serious when I say that I nearly had a heart attack unwrapping your gift. No one could get me something better," Zoro admitted. I looked up into Zoro's eyes. I never realized how attractive Zoro was. Most people would say 'ew no' because of his one eye deal but honestly, I didn't care. It was who he was and I liked who he was. I liked Zoro for who he was. He's strong, stubborn, sarcastic, fun to be around, kind, and will always have my back no matter what. And in my mind, I had this little fantasy that maybe just maybe, he would feel the same way. Zoro looked at me with soft eyes and his lips began to pout. Hearing the waves and feeling the cherry vodka, I leaned in closer. Slowly closing my eyes he began to close his eyes and leaning in.

I heard screams. Horrible screams. And my phone started to ring violently. I snapped back into reality and picked up.

"Hey," I said., panicking. 

"Scarlet?!" Marco said. He sounded so sad and frantic.

"Yeah what is it? Hey as Ace told when he would be arriving? I've been trying to reach him all night and he hasn't picked up or even showed up." I told him, my heart rate was shooting to a billion and something didn't feel right. Then, I heard him crying. 

"Ace is... Ace is..." Marco was saying but was hit cupping horribly. I looked at Zoro and he just shrugged.

"Ace is what Pineapple Head?!" I demanded.

"Ace is dead!" Marco shouted. And just like that, the entire night erupted into screams of sorrow. I dropped to my knees on the side, feeling the flames from the fire and the waves from the sea, my mind pulling apart.

"H-he's w-w-w-what?" I was choking. Marco was sobbing uncontrollably. 

"He's dead, Scarlet," he choked. "He's dead,". My heart was pounding out of my chest but my body only fell again, still on my knees but sitting on the cold sand. My body and soul were screaming but I just sat there, staring at the ocean and the rocks that lined the cliffs that reached over our heads. I started hearing my name being called but I just sat there, unable to move.

"Scarlet, come on now, miss." a subordinate said, crawling to my side and holding my shoulder and Zoro threw him off of me.

"Don't fucking touch her!" Zoro said and stood over me. "Scarlet, what's going on?" Zoro asked me, careful as to not to touch me.

"DUDE! Her fucking boyfriend just died!" the subordinate shouted and got back up on his feet. 

"Boyfriend?" Zoro asked, confused, and then looked back at me. His eyes widened and he backed away. "Oh fuck, Scar I had no idea you two were actually- FRANKY!!". Franky came over and scooped me up from my spot on the beach, but I felt so empty.

"I heard, come on Red, let's get out of here," Franky said and carried me all the way back to his jeep. 

-X-

Later I found out that Ace was on his way to the party when a member of the whitebeards gone rogue found out Ace's whereabouts and tracked him down with the police. It just so happened that when Ace stopped for gas, Whitebeard was there too. An old man in the back of his car while the chauffeur pumped the SUV full of gas. Since Ace was considered highly dangerous the police came in with their guns drawn. Ace put his hands up as Whitebeard himself came out of the car seeing what was happening. They stood their ground though, when the police surrounded them, they attacked together. But there were so many officers, and they even started firing. Ace jumped in his car for cover and Whitebeard into his SUV. One of the officers started hitting the gas pump and ignited a huge fire, as the other officer began to shoot into the fire. Upon seeing this, Whitebeard ran out of his SUV to rescue Ace. Ace was crawling out of the fire when Whitebeard saw him and protected him from the bullets. But the car was already on fire and alcohol was in the car. Once it reached it, bottles broke and the entire truck exploded, causing the gas pump to explode, which made the SUV caught fire and thus blew up the half the damn gas station all the way up to hell.

Ace died in a blaze of fire but Luffy and I were frozen into place. Franky drove me home with Zoro sitting in the back seat with me and I was just in shock the entire time, I was stuttering and unable to comprehend what happened. I was in complete denial and shaking even. I stumbled into my room and climbed up the steps. And my body completely gave out.


	27. Screaming Flames

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Scarlet tries to cope with the loss of Ace and spirals into a major depression while telling the story of how she and Ace met.

Even though I was not the only one in a doleful mood, I did my best to avoid anybody and everybody. Even Zoro. I felt so damn guilty. Ace fucking loved me and I almost pursued and a man child with green hair. Every day I expected a text or meme or a soft text from Ace but instead, I got concerned text from everyone. Some were even hateful. Saying I didn't deserve Ace's love, that I was a no good whore that never could love anyone. But the senders could never hate me as much as I hated myself. Bonnie helped me dress up in funeral clothes and rode with me there with my Aunts. They had to put on waterproof make up because I would have fits of uncontrollable sobbing. 

Ace had a joint funeral with Whitebeard at a large chapel that was near the camp and people were spilling out of the chapel. My Aunts stepped out of the limo and everything stopped, dressed in black they moved aside for me to emerge from the limo, as I put on a mask of strength. I heard whispers as the crowd moved aside and parted for me, who lead the path for my aunts and Bonnie, who stayed at my side. I looked around for a place to sit but a hand on my shoulder startled me and I looked up, and it was Marco.

"Family is up front," he said, his eyes still red and puffy. I had no words but just nodded, trying not to cry. He pulled me into a hug and I tried not to weep as I returned the favor. He rubbed my back and he himself swallowed the urge to do the same. He turned his attention to my aunts and bowed slightly, greeting them. "On behalf of the Sons of Whitebeard, we thank you for caring for Scarlet, the only daughter,". Hancock stood her ground but sighed.

"Go, you belong up front," Hancock said to me, looking strong. She leaned in a little closer at looked at me with kind eyes. "We'll sit right here, I promise,". I nodded and looked at Marco, who held out his hand for me. I took it gently and the crowd parted once more for us as he guided me to the caskets. There were two of them and seeing them made my throat close up so badly, I could barely breathe. Whitebeard's was made of light oak, strong but soft. Ace's was a bright cherry wood and they were both closed. I swallowed at the sight, trying to stay strong. Marco guided me back to the pews at the front and waited for me to sit before he did. I looked to my side and Luffy was sitting next to me, I bit my bottom lip and reached out my hand for his. He took a giants breath and took my hand. He turned to look at me and made eye contact with me. 

"Hey," I said, whispering, unable to smile. 

"Hey," Luffy said looked at me with the same eyes as mine, empty sorrow. Once everyone took their seats and paid their respects, the funeral began. 

"We are gathered here to honor the lives of two great noblemen, Edward Newgate, and Portgas D. Ace," the priest began. Ace was never one for spiritually or religion and it was weird that a priest would be conducting his funeral. In fact, it was weird that they didn't cremate him. I looked at Luffy who was equally as confused. The priest then spat lies saying that we should put our grief in god, that the two late men would have wanted it. Luffy and I hardened our grip onto each other's hands, sick and angry. We both glared at the priest to shut the fuck up and fear crept into his eyes as his jaw dropped and quickly moved on the something else. Luffy and I kept breathing slowly during the ceremony until the priest left the stand, asking if anyone had anything to say. Marco went up saying the Ace was his brother and Whitebeard his father, and how he loved both. More commanders stepped up and spoke their own words until everyone had said their piece. And on an impulse, I stood up and walked to the podium. Looking at the sea of faces, I found the strength to start my speech.

"As some of you know, my name is Scarlet Boa. Some of you may know me as Ushio, Red, Sweetheart, and Ace's girl," I began. There were so many faces and I bit my bottom lip before I moved on. "I stand here because, in light of what happened, I decided to share the story of how Ace and I met. Some of you were there for it, others might have been curious but never wanted to ask in fear of what they were getting themselves into. Which is what I told myself the day I met him too," some laughter came from the crowd and I kept going. "Two years ago around the beginning of May, I was working a shift for Capone Company. I was a bartender that would travel where I was employed to, and on that night I was to bartend for a certain meeting. I paid no mind to who was actually there but just made the drinks I was asked to make and nothing more. Afterward, as I was walking down the street I noticed a little girl try to fight off a group of guys with a stick. Out of concern, I got between the girls and the group of men and during the conflict, I saw a man in a red button-down and slacks come out of the shadows. I remembered him from the meeting and entered the conflict, getting cut across the chest, arm, and forehead in the process. When the group of men ran and left us with the girl she gave me a flower and kicked the man in the shins. I laughed at the time and walked her home before attending the deep cuts in the man's face and body. We found ourselves in a bar bathroom as I stitched up his face as best as I could when I learned his name. I remember how I just got finished with the one on his forehead before he smiled and told me his name was Ace." A group of people started laughing as I shook my head at the memory. "Two weeks later when I was doing a different bartending job, I ran into him again and it ended the same way with me stitching him up and removing the old ones. We were quick to become friends and introduced me to his family a couple of months later, leading to many adventures that I still laugh at today. It wasn't until recently did we become a couple despite both of having feelings for each other but I still cherished the short time with him. To me, those two years gave me a lifetime of happiness and I will never forget them. One day you wake up an only child and the next you're told that you have over a thousand brothers, am I right?". This time, the laughter shook the building reaching to the doors. I stepped down from the podium and sat down next to Luffy until the funeral was finished. 

 

Two fucking weeks. I spent two fucking weeks after the funeral in bed listening to sad music and not eating anything but god damn kraft mac and cheese and vodka. I would shower like every four days and I never left my room. I spent the days just crying, and being depressed while being drunk. My aunts left me alone, even when school started back up, I didn't go. I got more and more texts. Some from Bonnie, Robin, and Nami asking where the fuck I was at band practice. But I couldn't even get out of bed.

The Whitebeards officially disbanded and were left scattered all over. One day in the shower, at like four am, I just sang. "Love Me Again" by John Newman and even "Taste of Poison" by Halestorm. I can still remember the way I sang, every word dripped off my lips without consent. I just let it all out.

"Drink the wine, my darling you said. Take your time and consume all of it." I began, huddled in the corner of my shower. "Let the roses only drain my inspiration. The promises were born before they left your lips." My voice was trembling, but like the water that hit me and ran down my naked body, I couldn't stop. 

"I breathe you in again, just to feel you, underneath my skinnnnnn. Holding on to a sweet escape. IS ALWAYS LACED WITH A FAMILIAR TASTE OF POISON," I was sobbing but I couldn't stop singing the rest of the song. Each note came out of me and each lyric had nothing to hide. The emotion was flowing out of me, and I couldn't stop it. I don't think I have ever been this emotional, I've always locked it away letting no one bare witness to it. But this time, I just couldn't control it. I was broken, cracked, and scared. I could never be my whole self again because Ace was a part of my whole self. I was crying uncontrollably and I kept thinking how much I loved Ace. I fucking loved Ace. Sure he was poison, I realize that, but he was MY poison. He loved no one else, and I betrayed him. He made me who I was today, the reason I can play instruments, the reason why I can fight so well, the reason I am still alive. And now I'm in a shower rocking in a corner wishing that I was dead. I loved my best friend, and now he was gone. 

My song echoed off the walls and I felt so mournful. Donia later told me she heard me sing and cried. Everyone in the house woke up apparently to the sound of my voice and just started weeping. I became pure emotion, under the mercy of my sorrow. I just couldn't stop myself. All I felt was self-hate and depression. I felt like it was all my fault. I should have told him I loved him, I should have, I should have, I should have was the only thing that could occupy my mind. I felt like my mind just cracked and I became a broken record stuck on repeat. I should have, I should have, I should have, I should have, I should have.

I feel asleep in the shower, passed out from the alcohol. That was the only way I could sleep nowadays, and I was shivering so cold, my skin wrinkled and the shower pouring down water that was ice cold. I crawled out and went to straight to my bed, I didn't even put clothes on. When I slipped into the sheets, all I could think about was memories of Ace. Like the times he saw me naked and only loved me for it. I remember the feeling of him inside of me, the feeling os his mouth against mine, and his warmth. Or when he would give me that look, that I know now was love. I remember the breakfast he would make and how he was prone to burning things of setting shit on fire. I always got mad but I could never stay mad because deep down, I loved him too. I spent the rest of the day watching anime and I only ate a package of pop tarts before falling back asleep around 4 am again. 

Luffy hadn't been at school either apparently. People would blow up my phone asking me where he was but how the hell was I supposed to know when I haven't left my room in two weeks? I snuck out of my room and grabbed something to eat and ran back upstairs to my room when I got back inside, it hit me like a fucking train. Bonnie was in my room, sitting down. 

"Hello, Red," Bonnie said sitting on a bean bag.

"How the fuck did you get in?" I demanded.

"Donia gave me a call," she explained and got up. "I see you've been busy," she referenced to the empty bottles that littered the floor.

"Shut up and get out," I retorted. 

"No, I don't think I will," Bonnie said calmly. She came at me at punched me in the face. I dropped my pop tart and fought back. We rolled around the floor until Bonnie had me pinned. "WAKE UP SCARLET THIS IS YOU! ITS BEEN TWO GOD DAMN WEEKS!" 

"WHY DO YOU FUCKING CARE?!" " I restored. 

"BECAUSE YOU'RE MY BEST FRIEND YOU CUNT!" She yelled. "DO YOU HAVE IDEA HOW MANY TIMES THAT GREEN HAIRED MOSS HEAD AND LAW HAVE COME TO ME ASKING IF YOU'RE EVEN ALIVE?!" 

"LIKE ANYONE CARES!" I spat back. Bonnie headbutted me. 

"WE DO! IF WE DIDN'T I WOULDNT BE HERE WHILE YOU JUST FELT SORRY FOR YOURSELF!" Bonnie yelled into my face. She was angry but slowly she started to cry. "You've been pushing everyone away your cunt ass has been worrying everyone." Watching her cry I realized I've only seen Bonnie cry twice. This was the third. 

Out of all things to wake up my ass up, it was Bonnie crying. I then started crying and we held each other until the tears dried up.

"I'm sorry," I said. Bonnie laughed while her tears were dried.

"Honestly you should take a look at yourself. You look like a god damn zombie," Bonnie chuckled. Bonnie was right though, my skin was an unhealthy shade of green and eyes were almost swollen shut with all the crying. I lost so much weight and reeked of booze. As I cleaned up and actually ate something and drank some water, Bonnie filled me in on what's happening at school. Turns out Luffy was at a mental hospital and was being released tomorrow and asked if I wanted to come. I sat there and really thought about it. Luffy had been alone in this whole experience, why didn't I think of him? Luffy and Ace were super close and would do anything for each other. When Ace left he asked me if I could look after Luffy and I have neglected to do that. I decided then and there that I wouldn't let that happen again and vowed to be there where Ace can't. Ace would have wanted me to make sure Luffy was okay and Luffy just hasn't been okay at all. The least I could do for Luffy is be there with him. And started tomorrow I was going to be. 

"Yeah," I said. "I wouldn't miss it for the world,".


	28. Figuring it Out

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Scarlet tries to get back into the groove of things while the Strawhats finally find out who she is, and just how powerful she can be.

Bonnie ended up spending the night, and when my aunts came home to Bonnie, they were skeptical but within the hour the ended up loving her. Bonnie ended up getting clearance to come over whenever. Everyone seemed so happy that I was out of my room and actually eating. Upon Bonnie's demand, we got in the kitchen after dinner we started making all kinds of junk food. Brownies, cakes, and cookies. We spent the rest of the night eating and talking and even took a soak in the giant bath. It was nice finally taking care of myself. I just needed Bonnie to punch the living shit out of me I guess. 

The next day we left at seven and headed straight to the hospital. Halsey was playing through Bonnie's radio and we sang along, Bonnie would even rap some despite the fact she couldn't rap all. Her truck wasn't in the best of shape, it was actually one of the crustiest things I have ever seen and I was surprised it even started. So when I say we were bopping down the road, I wasn't exaggerating. Bonnie would turn up her music so she didn't have to hear everything fucking wrong with her truck. By the time we rolled into the parking lot, you could hear it sputtering and creak over the music. A group of people were standing next to a blue jeep near the entrance and looked our way as we parked. We crawled out and he heard Usopp call to us.

"Is that thing smoking?!" Usopp called as we walked over. Bonnie looked back and her truck was indeed smoking. The smell of burnt rubber filled the air.

"Yeah, All Crust does that," Bonnie claimed. 

"Why the fuck did you name your truck All Crust?" Chopper asked as we merged into the group.

"He's the All Might of crusty cars," I explained. I helped Bonnie actually name him when she got it.

"At least it runs," Sanji commented.

"Oh Jesus fucking Christ," Usopp said. Everyone was here, all except Luffy. They seemed to all be older too, Robin and Nami's hair went all the way down the backs and Usopp seemed way more fit and muscular with kind of disturbed me. Franky got a hair cut and looked bigger too. Sanji had a little beard was smoking a cigarette and Zoro stood a ways from me towards the back of the group and made eye contact with me more than once. I felt so damn guilty, I don't exactly remember what we doing the last time I saw Zoro, but it was the night Ace died. I remember walking and talking with him on the beach as I tried to reach Ace before Marco called me. I feel like something almost happened but I can't quite remember. 

"So his grandpa going to be here anytime soon?" Bonnie asked. My eyes widened and I felt like I got punched in the stomach. Luffy's grandpa, Garp, was the legal guardian of Luffy and Ace even though they were raised by a woman named Dandan. I completely forgot about the Garp and I know he's not going to like me very much anymore. I knew him on a personal level ever since I was little because he and my father would usually have a drink discuss work before my mom died. Oh, fuck he's going to kill me.

"Yeah I think that's his SUV," Nami said and pointed to the opposite direction of us in the parking lot. Well, it not like I don't have a death wish. We looked to where she pointed and a black SUV had parked. It sat there for a moment before Garp crawled out of the back. He shut the door and his glowing white suit blinded me in the daylight. Garp was a muscular man that was very tall, with salt and pepper hair and hands big enough to toss cannibals. He was a vice admiral and he fucking walked like it. He spotted us and everyone seem to freeze, he made his way towards us. None said anything.

"Y'all here for Luffy?" he asked us eyeing each of us. 

"Yes, sir." Chopper piped up. Garp sighed and finally made eye contact with me. His eyes widened and jumped a little in surprise.

"Hey old man," I said. Everyone stared at me in surprise.

"Oh dear god, you do have any idea how badly you beat your father, Ushio? For god's sake, you beat him with his own fraternity bat. He came into work the still coughing blood." Garp yelled. 

"You should have seen me after my twelfth birthday then when he had my softball bat!" I yelled back. Garp groaned and karate chopped my head.

"I didn't say he didn't deserve it but hell we nearly had another PR nightmare!" he gripped. I stuck my tongue out. He lifted his hands and patted me on the head and ruffled my hair a bit. "At least you're okay though. Congratulations on the adoption.".

"What-," I began to cay but Garp lifted his hand and cleared his voice.

"I will grant all of you ten minutes with Luffy but after that, I want all of your asses in school, do I make myself clear? Luffy should be at school later today but a few things need to be taken care of first," Garp said. 

"Yeah we hear you, Mr. Monkey," Usopp said crossing his arms. I guess Usopp was kinda used to Garp too, living with Luffy. 

"Good," Garp said and turned his heels to leave. There was a moment of silence before everyone surrounded me. Zoro came up to me first.

"You continue to amaze me, explain now," Zoro said in shock. He brushed my arm and anxiety shot through me like lightning. This was the first time we spoke in weeks. I should have never ignored him.

"How so?" I asked meekly.

"Why the fuck did your dad have a bat?!" Sanji asked.

"You didn't tell us you beat the shit out of your dad with a fucking bat, or that you've known Garp what seems like a long time and that thing about your twelfth birthday??" Nami said freaking out.

"Ok well, I've known Garp since I was little because he would come over and have drinks with my dad and they would talk about work. And yes my dad horribly abused to the point he left me in that damn apartment because the media nearly found out he's a child beater. One time after I failed a piano recital, he thought I would do better at softball and so he got me a bat afterward and when I lost my first game he beat me with the bat," I explained.

"And you recently beat the shit out of him?" Franky asked.

"He sounds like a piece of shit," Sanji said.

"Why would a vice admiral need to talk to your dad so much?" Robin asked. 

"Oh because my dad is an admiral of the marines," I said. "And I was being adopted my aunts and he needed to sign the papers and he wouldn't.". Jaws dropped except for Bonnie's, who just laughed.

"Hey her mom used to be a mob boss and now her aunts run it, so I mean little Ushio here has a family tree of horror!" Bonnie said laughing.

"Um, I know I haven't talked about it much but are you guys just now catching on? I mean they called my Ushio Ukama on the first day of school." I pointed out. 

"Wait, slow down, so you're saying your real name is Ushio Ukama and your biological father is Admiral Ukama?" Usopp asked.

"Correct, although I had a name change so legally my name is Scarlet Boa," I claimed. 

"Oh sweet Jesus," Nami breathed. 

"So much makes sense now," Zoro said, shaken.

"Funny how Ushio directly translates to 'sea' in Japanese," Robin said. "Are you Japanese, Scarlet?".

"Yeah like less than a quarter but I mostly inherited all my mom's jeans and I wanna say there like Chinese-Brazilian or something," I explained.

"Explains the big ass," Sanji whispered.

"What the fuck Sanji?" I called him out. Sanji held his hands up, still holding the cigarette.

"Don't blame me for noticing. I'm sure I'm not the only one who has though," he said and glanced at Zoro. I rolled my eyes. "The name Ushio is pretty though, I'd say a good fit considering you're ever changing eye color that resembles the sea.".

"That why I was named that, as soon as I opened my eyes I was named that," I explained. 

"LUFFY!" Usopp screamed and barged through all of us. Luffy came out of the building wearing a red hoodie, jeans, and some tennis shoes. I ran after him and Nami ran past all of us. She tackled hugged Luffy nearly crying and he hugged her back. I firmly believe that they dating on the down low. Usopp didn't wait and tackled them, then all of us dog piled onto Luffy in the parking lot. In the pile, I could the warmth that I knew belonged to Zoro and I could even hear his heartbeat. My heart began to pound and my face flushed. 

"Alright that enough, you'll suffocate him!" Garp said and began to pick us off of Luffy. But Luffy was only laughing, he got up and we formed a group hug before Luffy had to leave with Garp.

-X-

Going back to school was again, even we ended up being late for the first period. Robin, Zoro, and I snuck in and slid into our seats trying to laugh or make any noise. Once we got into our seats Zoro did a ninjutsu sign with his hands and we tried not to laugh. Mr. Shanks seemed to have not noticed us. I then slowly pulled out a two litter thing of cherry Dr. Pepper trying not to make a sound while staring at Mr. Shank's back as he talked. Slowly I opened it as it made a very satisfying fizz sound.

"Is that a fucking two liter Dr. Pepper?" Zoro mouthed to me confused.

"Hell yeah, cherry flavored," I mouthed back twisting the top off. Zoro glanced around the room as I took a swig of it.

"Pass that shit," he mouthed and smiled. He held out his hand and did wiggle his fingers. I tried not to laugh as I passed it. He watched Mr.Shank's every move as he hid the two-liter under his desk. Mr. Shanks turned his head briefly then went back to the board still talking then Zoro flipped up that bottle and started pounding it back.

"Dude what the fuck not all of it!" I said quite loudly, breaking our cover. The entire class looked at us and Zoro stopped drinking it. 

"I see all three of you have made it class," Mr. Shanks said looking at Robin, Zoro and me. Zoro passed me back the two-liter awkwardly. Shanks took a deep breath. 

"What else do you have two-liter of Dr. Pepper, Scarlet?" Shanks asked. I was put on the spot, so the only thing I knew how to do was make everything worse for everyone.

"Uhh, I mean well," I tried to explain but Shanks just looked at me with confused and slightly judgmental eyes. "Look man I don't judge you for having a crush on my mom back in college, so don't judge me on my drinking habits, my boyfriend just fucking died and I had to watch my dad cough blood the other week, and my mom died when I was little, cut me a break, okay?". I swung back my Dr. Pepper and looked back at Mr. Shanks with dead eyes. "Its been a rollercoaster,". The entire class just went silent, I looked at Zoro and he was trying his hardest not to fucking laugh. But it was Law who started laughing. He turned around laughing his ass off.

"Scarlet what the fuck, are you drunk?" Law asked gasping. I looked at him dead ass in the face.

"No, but I wish," I mumbled. I heard someone yell "same," from across the classroom. Law laughed even more. Mr. Shanks deeply sighed.

"I should honestly send you the principal's office, all of you, but I think your coach can handle any disciplinary actions needed," Shanks said and returned to teaching.


	29. Robes Too Tight

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The dojo team has made it to the national tournament.

Over the course of a month, Luffy and I became closer, I started making up for the times I missed at school and dojo as well as band practice. I had to work extremely hard but everything started to go back into motion. Throne even forgave me for missing for weeks because Donia told him my boyfriend had died. Every waking moment I was either doing homework, practicing music of dojo, and working, which most of the time intertwined in each other. I saw Luffy every day and bought him hot chocolate and he would tell me about other things I missed. Ace was apparently cremated later with Whitebeard. Over five hundred people showed up and each one of them knew about me, asking where I was. They wanted to see the beautiful widow with their own eyes.

"That story was pretty funny, but people were more focused on the fact that you were the beautiful widow," Luffy explained.

"I highly doubt I was the beautiful widow though," I said.

"Maybe not the widow part but they were interested in your beauty," Luffy explained. I laughed and shook my head.

"I am not beautiful, my aunts yes, but not me," I said and chuckled.

"Yes you are, I bet if I put a black wig on you you'll look like Hancock," Luffy said. 

"You know what Hancock looks like?" I asked.

"Yeah, I met her once with Ace. You and she are definitely related." Luffy claimed and nonchalantly sipped his hot chocolate. 

-X-

The year started to tick along as we trained harder for nationals. Winter became spring and spring became summer. I was slowly trying to heal after losing Ace and every day I thought about him. Bonnie would come over often to remind me of self-care and help me along the path of healing. Sometimes we just did girl things, like learn how to do cool braids or practice make up. Other times we sat in the bath and watched Gordan Ramsey scream at people. But what we both enjoyed the most was learning martial arts from Donia, learning how to shoot arrows at the archery range, and practicing sword play. With weight training, we burned m emotions into muscle and Bonnie was there in every step of the process. When summer was let out of school, we only became closer and basically lived with us.

Soon Nationals came upon us, and even though I was a little sick, I still went. We checked into the hotel and I was wobbling around. Law sat next to me the entire time on the bus wrapping me and blankets and giving me medicine. I was still wrapped up when I collapsed on the hotel bed. 

"Hey, at least get your robe on, the matches start in an hour," Tashigi said. I made a whimpering sound and groaned. I got up and reached for my suitcase. Tashigi and I got our own room since we were the only girls on the team. But Hawkeye's cheap ass only got us one bed, we went to the most prestigious high school in the country and Tashigi and I had to share a bed. Luckily, I no longer hated her, and she no longer hated me. She even wanted to go to the band battle to watch me play. It was also Tashigi to also tell me that the man who tried to attack me in the bathroom at the Baratie. One night he just disappeared and hasn't been found since. Ironically, that made me smile because I knew who was behind it.

I rummaged through it and slowly but surely I wasn't able to find my robe. Hell, I pulled everything out and panicked hardcore. Tashigi even came over to help me look for it, I had EVERYTHING else but my robe. 

"How in the living hell do you forget to pack your robe?!" Tashigi yelled at me, which I completely deserved.

"Please tell me you pack another one!" I asked, panicking. Tashigi rolled her eyes.

"No, but even if I did, it wouldn't fit you nor would it have the vice-captain symbol on it!" She told me. 

"Maybe one of the boys have one!" I pointed out. Tashigi rolled her eyes.

"You can try but I wouldn't trust those boys to pack well for shit," she claimed. I shrugged and see where she was coming from, but they were my only hope. 

I ran out of the room and knocked on the door next to us, Hatchi answered the door but unfortunately, no one packed an extra. I knocked in the second door and Johnny answered. 

"Please for the love of god one of you packed an extra robe," I asked.

"JOHNNY, WHO'S AT THE DOOR?!" someone yelled. He looked back at the other boys.

"It's Scarlet, asking if anyone packed an extra robe," he replied. 

"WHAT?!" Zoro said and I heard stomp to the door. I saw his hand take the door and fly it open. "You forgot your robe?!". I shrugged and looked at him with an apologetic look. Zoro looked up and groaned. "Come in, I think I have an extra.". I followed after him and six other boys were chuckling giving me shit. Zoro took a robe out of his suitcase and gave it to me. 

"Thanks, moss head," I said and was about to leave.

"I would try that on first, I'm kinda twice the size of you and probably won't fit," Zoro warned. I groaned. I unfolded the robe and wrapped myself with it. I tied it and turned it around. Zoro's cheeks went red and his cheeks puffed up. His robe consumed me. 

"Oh fuck you," I said as Zoro tried not to laugh. 

"Holy fuck you actually look adorable," Law said and was laughing. He was still laughing as he reached into his bag and pulled out a robe from his bag and gave it to me. "I think this one would fit you better, even has a vice-captain seal from when I was the vice-captain,". I took and remembered when I got my title of vice-captain, Law had challenged me and halfway through the match, he forfeited and gave his title to me. Saying I would be a far greater vice-captain since I actually cared. 

"Shut the fuck up, but thanks," I said and ripped off Zoro's robe and tossed it at him. I ran out of there faster than a fucking chipmunk. I was so embarrassed. I could still hear the boys laughing as I ran to my room and shut it behind me. 

"Got one?" Tashigi asked from the bathroom.

"Yeah, Law gave me his old one," I replied and went to the bathroom. Tashigi was trying to do her hair. 

"That's good, fuck, hey can do you have an extra hair tie?" she asked. I looked at her with a questionable look.

"Want me to do your hair? I can do all kinds of braids to keep your hair out of your face," I explained. Tashigi's hair had grown a lot too, and it was passed her shoulders. 

"Please," she said looking at me with desperation. I got up behind her and started at the top of her head. It took me ten minutes to give her pigtails that were braided into fishtails. I even helped her with her makeup and I cornrowed the top of my head and tied it into a ponytail. I did winged eyeliner that smokes out. I helped Tashigi do a pop star look and helped her gradient her lips. She popped in her contact and all we had had to do was put on our robes. She put hers on and I had to squeeze into Law's. I tied it up and look in the mirror.

"Oh fuck, girl we have a problem," I said, looking into the mirror. She turned around and came up beside me and looked into the mirror. She covered her mouth. What we gazed into, was a robe so tight I couldn't even get my boobs completely covered. I had major cleavage showing. 

"Oh my goodness," Tashigi whispered. We both knew this was a major problem. To expose this much was against almost every dojo regulation, except a man might be able to get away with it, but a woman? No way in hell, we might get disqualified. I looked at Tashigi, wondering what the hell I should do. She uncovered her mouth and took a deep breath. "You have to wear it," she whimpered. 

"Please no," I pleaded.

"Scarlet, we have to wear those armor pieces anyways," Tashigi said.

"Oh fuck you're right," I said, but still embarrassed.

"I'm sure the boys will like it," Tashigi commented and I groaned. 

"Please God, if you exist, life has been a huge asshole lately and it would just be nice if my titties didn't pop out," I prayed out loud and Tashigi laughed.

"Right? It sucks that you have the luck to pray for that," she said while tieing her robe.

"You're a good person, can you pray for me?" I asked jokingly.

"Can't say the universe will listen, but sure," Tashigi agreed and I chuckled. It was nice that we got along.

-X-

One of the best moments of my life, the defiance, the confidence, the bitch faces we put on as our team was called onto the stage. Zoro, Law, Tashigi, and I lead the team with secrete cocky smirks. The entire crowd went silent when they saw us on the jumbotron. Tashigi and I had glares for days and eyeliner that could cut diamonds. This year, we would not be taking any shit.

When I say we made national news, I'm not fucking joking. News vans started rolling and everyone's eyes were on our team, see what we would do next.

They continued to call teams to the stage after all the teams were on stage, the jumbotron showed the bracket for each team. After each spar, the team itself would move up and the last sparring match would be for the captains, and Zoro was fucking ready. He buffed up a lot and worked so hard using so many different kinds of techniques. He even mastered the three sword style. I feared for whoever went up against him.

Since Zoro and I were one of the last ones to spar, and we knew our team could handle their opponents, we trained in the training room where we could watch the matches on the T.V.s in each corner of the room. The training room was huge and covered in mats and lined with lockers and weight machines as well as water fountains. I really appreciated Zoro helping me out with the whole grieving thing, in fact, he didn't fucking hesitate to give me space or come with Franky if I needed anything. His face was still red though, but I began to think it wasn't because he was out of breath. But I had no room to talk because I could see a great portion of his torso and every time I looked, heat would rush to my face and a bolt of lightning would go through me. I held up my wooden sword, and we parried at amazing speed. But I was barely able to keep up, we went faster and faster and he began to start to corner me. I held up a good fight until my foot slipped the end of the mat. I hit the crowd for a split second I saw stars. My back was arched due to the unevenness of the ground and of course, my head hit the concrete.

"Ow, fuck," I gasped and looked up. Zoro was just standing there, his eyes wide and his entire face was red, and he was frozen. I looked down and I realized that even more of my chest had popped out. Luckily not entirely, because I was wearing a bra, but heat began to seep into my face. Zoro snapped out of his funk and held out his hand as he looked away. I took it, embarrassed, and he pulled me back up with one quick movement. I was practically yanked off of the ground. "Uh, thanks," I whimpered.

"Yeah, uh, no problem," Zoro said sheepishly. Tashigi came in at that moment happier than I've ever seen her.

"Did you see?! I WON!!!!" She squealed and came over to hug me.

"THAT'S GREAT!! I knew you could do it!" I said and I gave her a hug. She jumped up and down and let go.

"Law should be next, and then it's your turn. I think you got a big guy honestly. His name Is Caribou I think," she explained.

"Either way, I have to kick his ass or we're doomed. How was your score?!" I asked Tashigi beamed.

"The highest I have ever been awarded!" I said happily. I smiled so wide, it almost hurt. We heard the bell on the stage ring, signaling an end of a match. We looked up at the T.V.s and to no surprise, Law's arm was raised with his wooden sword, signaling that he had won. His giant smirk on his face was enough to tell that it didn't take him long to win.

"Guess I'm next, wish me luck," I said.


	30. Powerful Woman

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Scarlet steps up to her match and has a talk with the coach.

I walked onto the stage at the call of my name and the entire crowd erupted. I kept an emotionless face on as my opponent stepped forward. His was just as Tashigi said, Caribou, I didn't catch his last name but something told me that I didn't want to know. He was dark-skinned, tall and lanky. He had his robe was a tannish color and he had it on tight, to the point where you could only see his neck and up like it was choking him. He dark hair was black and down to his shoulders, and oh my god HIS FACE. It made me want to want to gag it was so ugly. And the way he looked at me and licked his lips creeped me the hell out. It gave me shivers and I felt even sicker than I probably was. 

We approached each other with our wooden swords in front, held with both hands. The ref set himself between and announced the rules. A good clean fight, groin or face. He blew the whistle and Caribou immediately stepped back with his weapon at a defensive stance. The ref stepped back and I took a step forward, the Caribou jumped to my side, still at a defensive stance. I turned to face him and he jumped again. He kept dancing around me at such at a speed that it was hard to keep up with him. I realized that trying to keep track was a pointless game and stood still as he jumped around me, changing his position every couple of seconds. It was our team called "Rat Trap". Some circles even call it "Swamp". It's where you trap your opponent into not knowing what the fuck you'll do next by constantly changing your position, with hopes to strike when they least expect it, and disarm them. It was a way to dishonor your opponent by not having a true match with them. My blood started to boil but I needed to keep it under control. I forced myself into a relaxed stance and close my eyes. Every time he moved, he made a sound, if I focused on that sound, I can tell where he was and prevent him from striking if the noise gets close to me. I waited until I heard the footsteps on my left. I turned and blocked his attack. Caribou's eyes widened and gave me a creepy ass smile. I struck him and he almost balances. He dodged my next attack and disappeared. I turned around and he was coming at me from behind. I blocked and using his body weight he began to press down, pressuring my body to slowly slump to the ground. He smiled again.

"Hey, Scarlet right? Why not make a bet with me?" he asked. His voice sounded slimy. 

"What the fuck, do you want?" I spat, slowly starting to rise from his pressure.

"Let's say if I won this match, you'll have to go on a date with me. I mean any girl with a body like that must be a good fuck," he said, very loudly. I saw red and blood exploded. I shoved him off my sword and swept underneath his legs, causing him to fall to the ground, but he got up quick. But I was ready, I used all my strength to boost my speed and jump. I came down at him like fucking lightning. My weapon came into contact with him and his shattered upon impact. I used the last of it to the knock it out of his hands. He was disarmed but that wasn't enough for me. I needed to see blood.

"LIKE ANYONE WOULD FUCK A PIECE OF SEXIST SHIT YOU LIKE YOU! I BET THE ONLY ACTION YOU EVER GET IS YOUR FUCKING SOCK YOU UGLY CRACK HEAD LOOKING MOTHER FUCKER! IF I EVER WANTED TO KILL MYSELF I'D JUMP UP TO YOUR EGO AND DROP DOWN TO YOUR IQ!" I screamed. I pointed my weapon at him. "And if I ever catch you talking to a woman like that again, I'll find you and afterword I'd have to get that girl some therapy because having to look at your face is traumatizing enough.". I lowered my weapon and walked away. I had to, my blood was on fire and it only grew hotter. The whistle blew and the match was over. I had no doubt won, I did, however, get points taken off for screaming all those vulgar things at him, but Caribou got points docked off too. I stormed into the locker room where the rest of the team sat and was looking at the T.V. screen. I was still enraged. Law started to clap as Tashigi came up to me and sat down on a bench. 

"You tore him a new asshole, Jesus Christ," Law said laughing.

"I think his mouth was his asshole," I seethed. I glanced at Law still glaring, but I caught Zoro in my peripheral vision. He was standing up looking up at the screen, waiting to be called. His fist clenched his jaw set and tight. He had rage radiating off of him, even I was a little scared to go around him. I looked back at Tashigi and pointed to one of the lockers. I followed where she points and my eyes widened. There was a huge ass crater in one of the lockers. The door was bent and was held together by how far it had been blasted into the actual locker. It was destroyed. I looked back at Zoro and his fist was bruised and bleeding. But before I could get up and address him about it, his name was called and Zoro stormed out. 

-X- 

"We heard what that fucking creep said to you, and Zoro got so mad he punched the locker," Tashigi said and my rage slipped away. Dread replaced it by how the hell was I going to explain this to Hawkeye. I had no idea how much those lockers costs, but sure enough we would have to end up paying for it. I groaned but looked up at the screen as Zoro was walking onto the stage. The camera got a shot of his face and his looked PISSED, but heat rushed to my face all the same for some stupid, idiotic reason. His opponent was Drake X, a very powerful player in dojo. Like if dojo was the NFL, he'd get drafted. They stood in front of each other until the whistle blew. They immediately crossed swords. 

"I would like to apologize for the rudeness my vice-captain gave yours, if all possible, I would still like to have an honorable match with you, Zoro Roronoa," Drake said. They pushed off of each other and Zoro just gave him a nasty glare.

"I will not apologize for what our vice-captain said, She's had enough harassment, so tell that Caribou that he comes around any of our female teammates, we'll be there," Zoro said. His voice was like a shard of ice, cold and unforgiving. Drake only nodded and nearly flew at Zoro, causing him to be knocked back. Zoro regains his balance and attacked back, crossing swords with Drake. Over and over again they fought and the match seemed to drag on for ages. But at the same time, they fought so fast that it was hard to keep track. They crossed their swords again and Drake used his momentum to graze down Zoro's sword to attack his legs, but Zoro caught it and I saw him flex and fucked threw Drake's sword of his heads. Drake's weapon landed on the other side of the stage and Drake just stood there, eyes wide. My hands covered my mouth and I felt tears swell. Our team erupted. It was the final match and Zoro had won. Zoro had one. ZORO WON! WE WON NATIONALS! Like the movies, we ran out of the training room and ran towards Zoro. I was beamed and all my rage had seemed to disappear. I saw Zoro turn around and make eye contact with me, he was smiling widely. That lightning feeling struck me again and I blushed but ran towards him anyways. The team was giving each other high fives and chanting and even hugging each other. Zoro and I were laughing through all the ecstasy, Zoro picked me up (with astonishing amounts of ease) and I felt the world spun around me. When he put me down, he was still smiling and had no idea what he just did. The entire team starred at us and my face was a bright shade of red, and my anxiety going through roof. But before anything was said Hawkeye greeted us with the first ever smile we had ever seen. It was almost too bright to look at. 

-X-

We waited until Hawkeye fell asleep in his own before officially celebrated our way. We all changed into our normal street clothes and it felt so nice to wear just a t-shirt and jeans. Zoro, Johnny, and Yosaku, and a couple other snuck in alcohol. We started pouring it down our throats mixed with sodas and already bad decisions were being made.

"Scarlet, before you drink anymore, come here," Law and grabbed my hand pulled me into the bathroom. The entire team was in a locked lobby suite that one Johnny swindled a guy out of.

"What is it?" I asked and Law handed me a needle, a marker, disinfecting wipes, and a piercing.

"I want you to give me a tongue piercing. I know you can do it because you've been working at the Black Lily for almost six months now. No, do it." Law said and stuck out his tongue. I stared at him in the eyes, making sure he really wanted me to do this. He nodded and I took the marker, marking a good spot for me to pierce. I disinfected the tongue first though and made sure I wouldn't be piercing any veins. Once I found my spot, I struck it and it went through clean. Law yelped and slowing I put the piercing where the needle was. I disinfected again and Law was all good to go. I gave him the rundown on how to take care of it and he nodded and smiled, even though his tongue was starting to swell. He came out of the bathroom sticking out his tongue giving a battle cry. Zoro looked at him, and raised his eyebrow and looked me. I shrugged and he laughed before walking his way towards me.

"So you gave Taffy a tongue piercing?" Zoro asked a question by. He handed me a cup of cherry Taka and Dr. Pepper.

"He asked for it and wouldn't take no as an answer," I explained before taking a drink. The team was laughing and all having a good time. I looked at Zoro and noticed his hands again. It struck me that he had punched a locker and they were still bleeding. "Oh fuck no, come here," I said and tugged him to the bathroom and shut the door behind me. I found the first aid kit under the sink.

"What are you-?" he began but I cut him off.

"Hand, now," I demanded. He gave me his hand and I immediately began to rub an alcohol wipe on it. Zoro tried to jerk his hand away because of the sting but I held its place. "Why did you have to punch the shit out of that locker?". I looked up at Zoro and his facial expression softened.

"I got mad," he whispered.

"Yeah, but why?" I asked and threw the alcohol wipe away. I pulled out gauze out of the kit.

"What that guy said to you, it just pissed me off. No one should talk to you like that," he explained. I sighed deeply.

"Well, people do it anyways," I said. I opened the gauze and started to wrap Zoro's hand with it.

"'If I were to kill myself, I'd climb up to your ego and drop down to your IQ,'" Zoro said, quoting me, and laughed. I laughed too.

"Oh Jesus Christ I was pissed," I said looking up and closing my eyes. I gave out a chuckle and went back to work.

"Hey that was pretty damn good though, he's probably crying right now," Zoro said laughing.

"Oh and don't forget 'the only action you get is with your sock'," I said.

"That was a good one, you roasted the hell of him. You're a fucking savage." Zoro said. I chuckled and raised an eyebrow, then turned to look at him.

"So I've been told," I said and shook my head. I smiled. A moment of silence separated us until I was done wrapping his hand up. "Hey, thanks for standing up for me though,".

"You mean with Drake?" he asked, eyebrows raised.

"Yeah, thanks for having my back," I said. Zoro looked shocked, then looked around.

"Did you just thank me for defending you after you destroyed someone's ego? Who are you and what have you done with Scarlet?" he faked panicked. I rolled my eyes.

"Oh shut up," I said and pushed him. Zoro smiled and I could see a spark in his eyes. I felt the heat rush to my face again.

"But seriously, it's no problem. I'm glad you joined the team," Zoro said (without thinking). Anxiety bolted through me and I blushed even harder. He was drunk, there was no other explanation.

"I'm glad I joined too," I said.


	31. Outrageous Realizations

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Scarlet gets caught up in a music show and ends up being on a billboard.

It had been seven months since Ace had died and I was dealing with it every day. Sometimes I would still cry and sing, other times I would try not to think of the way he felt to me. But I was trying, staying strong and taking each day as a step. I took a day to myself and took my bike to the beach. My Aunts had left the day before with Donia and Bonnie was busy with her brothers, so I headed to the beach front near the cliffs, not Ace's hidden beach but another one. I still couldn't go back. I parked the bike in the gravel and left with my beach bag, stripping out of my riding clothes and into my beach ones. My bathing suit was just a classic black two-piece. My top was strapless and showed almost all of my clevledge with a big gold metal ring tieing the fabric together. My bottoms were similar to a bikini bottom but had gold metal rings on each side. I laid down the towel once I got to the sand and laid down on it, letting the sun bathe me. I had brought my speaker out with and played "16 Shots" by Stefflon Don. I stretched my body out and laid there for a good twenty minutes before a shadow blocked my sun, followed by sun.

"Baby, you look better than you did two years ago," a voice crawled and I shot open my eyes. It was Kidd, wearing red swim trunks looking down at me, smiling.

"Fuck off, Kidd," I spat and swatted my arm in his direction.

"But aren't you so lonely with Ace gone?" he cooed and squatted down to my level.

"Did I fucking stutter?" I seethed, taking my hand and pushing him off his feet and into the sand. He landed on his ass but only laughed.

"You've definitely gotten more feisty, I've always liked that about you," Kidd said, almost psychotically. 

"I really don't give a shit, Kidd. Now can you stop wasting my time and leave me alone?" I commented, closing my eyes back against the sun. I heard Kidd laughing and I rolled my eyes at the sound.

"What's wrong? Don't you remember the fun we used to have together?" Kidd teased and I breathed deeply. I sat up and gave Kidd my full attention. He was smiling widely but it reminded me of an animal more than a man. For once, it was just him and I didn't see his friends anywhere in sight. 

"No, actually I don't. I was drunk more often than not and I really care not to remember any of you. Now leave, I'm not asking nicely anymore," I spat, cutting my eyes at him. I wasn't in the mood for anything related to him. But he only got back on his feet and leaned in closer. 

"But baby-" he smirked. My chest tightened and I had a flashback of Ace, on top of me and looking at me with soft eyes. I raised my hand without thinking and I slapped him across the face, a large smack echoing between us. 

"Don't you ever fucking call me that," I seethed. A bright red mark was spread across his face as he looked at the ground, shocked. "Or do I need to beat you again to remind you?". Kidd's pupils turned into tiny dots and glared at me with rage. But I wasn't scared, not anymore. He got up silently and I saw his chest rise and fall from anger. He blinked and looked down at me but I gave him the same facial expression from earlier. I grabbed the edge of my towel and stood up while stepping off of it. "Move on, Kidd. I'm not interested.". I took the towel and grabbed my bag before walking away, leaving him in his immature rage. 

"You'll pay for that, Ushio," I heard him say but I paid him no mind. Instead, I found another spot on the beach to lay down at. Kidd seemed to have gone to where he was before he graced me with his awful smile, so I laid down on my stomach and stretched out. I put my music back on and let the sun warm my back, tanning it slowly.

"Hey! When did you get here?" a voice above me asked and I turned around to see Nami holding a beach ball and wearing a blue bikini and her long hair tied back. She was standing there with Chopper, who was wearing pink swim trunks.

"Hey! I've been here around an hour," I said and got up from my spot. "Where did you guys come from?". Nami smiled and gave me a hug and Chopper gave me one too.

"Oh, we borrowing Brook's old boat and heading out. Want to join us?" Nami asked.

"Oh, well whose all going?" I asked.

"Me, Chopper, Luffy, Usopp, Sanji, Zoro, Franky, Brook, and Robin," Chopper listed. 

"Everybody, huh? This is the first I've heard about it," I said, a pang in my chest that I hadn't known about this sooner. Nami's jaw dropped and her eyes widened.

"It's because Usopp forgot to put you in the group chat, oh my god. Here I'll put you in," Nami said and pulled out her phone from her bikini top. 

"Oh okay, where are you guys going in the boat?" I asked while Nami scrolled through her phone, typing.

"There's a weird island a couple of miles out that has a REALLY pretty view," Chopper chirped. My phone went off and I looked to see what it was about. Cat Burgerler added me to "fUCkiNg Mugiwara" group chat. 

"Okay, now you're all set! Come on, the boat is this way!" Nami said and grabbed my bag for me. I quickly took the bag from her hand gave her a look.

"Your group chat name is literally cat burglar," I pointed out and Nami just stuck her tongue out, holding up my speaker.

"You coming?" Nami asked, her eyes dancing in the light.

"No, I think I'm good. I have some things I need to care of," I lied. In truth, I felt too awkward to join them. Nami and Chopper gave me a pouted face.

"But Zoro will be there," Nami teased and I cut my eyes at her.

"What the fuck is that suppose to mean?" I snarled and the light in her eyes evaporated. 

"Nothing, come on Chopper, let's go," Nami said, all the emotion drained from her voice as she walked away. 

"But-" Chopper protested and looked back at me, his face torn but followed Nami. 

-X-

After that, the summer flew by and Senior year began in late August. Entering the halls again made me anxious considering I spent most of my time either alone or with Bonnie. Now, most of my classes were art based. I had one math, one English, one history, a computer class, two art classes, and dojo. and instead of sharing them with Bonnie, I shared three of them again with Zoro. An art class, history, and dojo. Law I was thankful to have a computer class and Luffy and I shared history with Zoro. Usopp also shared both of my art classes and Franky was in my English class. 

I walked into history with a steaming cup of coffee because of it. I immediately went straight for the back of the classroom near the door, my favorite spot in a classroom setup. Still waking up, I looked up and Zoro was looking at me with a soft gaze. I blinked and rubbed my eyes, unsure as to what I was seeing.

"Hey," he said softly, bags under his eyes and yawned. He sat down next to me on my right and scratched his head. "How are you doing?". 

"Uh, tired really, how about you?" I asked sipping at my coffee. Zoro looked at me like he was scared to say the wrong thing.

"The first day of senior year," he commented, raising his eyebrows and slouching his shoulders. "But I'm tired too," he admitted and smiled weakly at me. 

"Yeah, it's been a rollercoaster," I admitted. Zoro went quiet for a moment and yawned before looking back at me with tired eyes. 

"Hey, aren't you in a band with Nami, Robin, and that Bonnie girl?" Zoro said. I was even confused now. Very confused. And suspicious.

"What are you talking about? I'm not in any band." I asked. Zoro's facial expression changed to an 'oh shit'.

"You didn't know?" He asked carefully.

"Know about what?!" I asked. I was getting pissed about being left in the dark. Zoro threw up his hands in defense.

"Damn, calm down first!" Zoro said.

"DON'T TELL ME TO CALM DOWN BECAUSE I WAS CALM BEFORE YOU FUCKING SAID THAT!" I barked.

"Okay! Okay! Damn! I was talking about the bet! I thought you knew about it!" He said with his hands up in defense.

"What bet?!" I asked, flames sparking off my every word.

"There's a band battle at the Rip-Off-Bar down in the groves. The winning band gets 5k cash. The crew already split themselves boys and girls then entered themselves and the girls may have already signed you up as well. Winner takes the cash." Zoro said. I stared at Zoro for a good while not knowing what to feel. Angry? Way past that. Anxiety? You fucking bet. Confusion? I would take the cake. Finally, I was able to come up with a response.

"Fuck. No. Take me off." I said. He kept up his arms up in defense.

"It was officialized last night, it's too late," he said.

"Are you fucking kidding me? Without my consent? This has to be illegal. What even is the penalty to the losers?" I asked. Zoro just shrugged.

"It's sometimes next year, I think, so you guys have plenty of time to practice. And losing team has to spend a night in the lowest level of Impel Down," he said. I wanted to rip off Bonnie's head because I knew it was her idea signing me on. Impel down was a five-level supermax security prison that went underground. The lower you go on each level the worse everything gets. Rumors say they torture the prisoners day and night. It was worse prison in the country. "Luffy thought of it. He said he knows the warden and can get the losing team in a hardcore scared straight program." Zoro said. My head was starting to hurt. I was in a high stake bet and I feel like I was thrown into the lion's den. I wondered how long they were going to take to tell me.

"Goddamnit. When the battle again?" I asked.

"December I think," he said, but his answer only made me irritated. What kind of shit did I get dragged into this time?

-X-

Soon, I was constantly busy. Thorne had me model all his merch for the shop we just opened up in a better part of town. It was a brand new building that was bigger and better. We were working with the Delarosa modeling company for the photoshoots and it was super painful in the end. They did my make up and when I was done, I looked like another being that wasn't human. Something of an entity that I could hardly believe it was me. They put me in a black wig and dressed in black roses. The entire dress was held together by interwoven streams of black roses. They had me lay in a field and photoshop smoke and fire for the advertisement. I have covered in fake tattoos that the girls design and given a fake septum piercing.

What they didn't tell me was that it would end up on a fucking billboard. Upon seeing it, Donia laughed and said I looked EXACTLY like Hancock. I got a call from Franky while I was at work, cleaning. 

"Do you have any idea what I'm looking at?" He shouted. I sighed.

"A billboard?" I asked. I was sweeping the floor of the new shop while everyone else cleaned their chairs for customers that day. 

"YES! A billboard with you on it!" Franky claimed. He was almost in a frantic. Thorne looked at me gave me a raised eyebrow. 

"Yeah, is it good? I haven't seen it yet?" I asked. 

"Like it? Sis, you're pretty enough as it is, you about gave me a heart attack! But, yes, it's very good," Franky said. 

"Send me a picture of the billboard, okay?" I asked. 

"Yeah sure just let me send it through Zoro's phone, here, talk to Zoro," Franky said. 

"Hello?" Zoro said and my heart skipped a beat.

"Hey," I said weakly. 

"You are just full of surprises, I didn't know you were a model," Zoro told me. 

"I'm not, it was just a one-time thing I did for my boss. He's the only person who I would model for anyway since its mailing merchandise you can get on our website." I explained. My phone vibrated, and I pulled it away from my face, looking at what had been sent. I was expecting it to be of the billboard but it was just a really cringy picture of Franky with the front camera. I saved it to my phone. 

"Franky you look beautiful," I joked and I heard him laugh. He sent me the actual picture of the billboard.

"HOLY SHIT!" I called. I nearly had a heart attack. I looked like a dark and dangerous goddess. Butterflies exploded in my stomach. "Wait, oh my god I do look like my Aunt Hancock what the fuck,". I was positioned standing in a field of burning flowers and I was covered in tattoos, mainly flowers of all kinds. My hair was black and was flowing in wind. The dress was black roses and thorns with a slit in the leg. The look on my face was almost a Mona Lisa, you couldn't tell if I was smiling. I have a far off look and I looked so mysterious. I couldn't believe that it was me that I was staring at. 

"Okay well we're kind of parked on the side of the highway, so I'm going to give you back to Franky," Zoro and I could hear him passing the phone back to Franky.

"Okay, well sorry to bother you but we're going to be heading out, Usopp is dragging us to go get some last minute things for the show, see ya, sis," Franky told me.

"Okay yeah see you," I said and hung up. I showed everyone the picture and they all liked it and I got a lot of compliments. It really made me feel good because I was actually starting to believe that I was beautiful.


	32. Zoro's Perspective

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Zoro comes to terms with his feelings for a wild girl who loves cherries.

I don't think she remembers what we almost did that night, our lips so close but broken by a phone call that caused her to disappear for weeks. She locked herself away and I was so tempted to come over to her house, but I knew that she wouldn't listen to me, nor could I even get through the front door. 

"Come on Bonnie, please, you can talk to her. She listens to you," I asked Bonnie. Bonnie just rolled her eyes and slammed her locker.

"She hasn't been answering my texts either so I don't know why you would come to me, moss head." She retorted and tried to walk away, but I persisted.

"She hasn't been answering anyone's texts!" I claimed and Bonnie groaned.

"Look, Scarlet has to figure her shit right now and she needs time to do so. If I bust in there now, without an invite from her family, I'll only make things worse. I know a girl who has clearance to the house and she will let me in when she deems necessary." she explained. "For Christ sake, her boyfriend was just murdered by crooked cops.". Bonnie glared at me and picked up her pace, clearing not wanting to talk anymore. I sighed and threw my hands in the air. I couldn't just wait, I felt like I was doing nothing. Luffy hadn't been at school either and was even admitted at the mental hospital. It was like everyone was fading away and I couldn't do anything to stop it.

Dojo was bad too, it was really hard to keep my teammates under control during practice and everyone kept asking about Scarlet and Luffy. I had explained to Hawkeye what had happened in private and he seemed to understand.

"We just need to give Miss Boa some time. I'm sure you are aware that she has never had it easy, but anyone can crumble after losing such an anchor. I'll be in contact with her guardians, if anything happens, I'll inform you." he said. I had to chuckle.

"You sure got a soft spot for her, huh?" I joked. Hawkeye glared at me but sighed.

"I'm getting soft, aren't I?" he asked and shook his head. "Keep this conversation between us, okay?". 

"Yes, Sensi," I said and bowed. After I explained everything to the coach, Mr. Shanks pulled me aside the next day and asked how Scarlet and Luffy were. I explained to him that Luffy was in the hospital and no one knows how Scarlet is. He sighed and asked me to inform him as soon as I could. I said I would and he let me go, and I walked to my next class with Law and Robin. 

I had three classes with Scarlet, English, Chemistry, and dojo after school. And every day I stared at her empty seat. In History, I would look at Luffy's seat and Franky would end up taking notes for me. Every moment I was awake, I thought and hoped they were both ok. Slowly, each day I was able to regain focus, my grades were already starting to slip and in time, I stopped asking Bonnie and Law to check up on Scarlet. I did, however, never leave Dojo until almost nine at night from working out and studying, and band practice. Three days a week, I worked with my Dad and dinner was always on the table for me when I got home. I went to bed and would lay there until one or two in the morning trying to fall asleep. 

How come Scarlet was ignoring everyone? Does she not care anymore? Does she think that we don't care? How come she didn't tell anyone that she and Ace became official before he died? I slowly started to get a little mad, I had spent so much time thinking and so much energy caring about her and Luffy but at least Luffy had an excellent excuse. You were not allowed to have your phone in the hospitals and Scarlet was sitting around at home. This wasn't her, this wasn't the Scarlet that I knew, the Scarlet that I liked, or more than liked. My mind drifted to what I remember how Scarlet was, to who she was to me. She was strong, sarcastic, a complete savage, stubborn as hell, smart, creative, a fucking alcoholic probably (like me), and beautiful. Everything about her had a 'dangerous woman' vibe and so god damn independent. I was playing music and "Cherry Hill" by Russ popped up on my radio on Spotify. I normally wouldn't listen to this kind of stuff, but I had been branching out my music taste. Hearing each lyric I realized I understood what Russ was talking about. To love someone to run around in circles and act like a fool, thinking that could drinking could help but would always end up thinking about her, swimming in my temptations. I listen to the bass line and I realized each note could be converted using an electric guitar, a bass, and some drums. I sat up and looked up the music sheets. I found the sheets for guitars and the drums were easy enough to compose. I sent it to Brook, he would know how to perfect it since music sheets and conversion were his things. I knew only a tiny bit, but I sent him everything and he responded almost immediately. Brook doesn't fucking sleep unless he drinks, then he sleeps for almost two days. 

"The song is almost made for anyone who loves Scarlet lol. Yeah, I can convert it. Give me like a couple of hours and I'll send it to the rest." Brook texted back. 

"Thanks, man, gn," I responded. Cherry Hill, huh. That would be a crazy ass way to tell someone you liked them. 

 

The next couple of days, Scarlet and Luffy still didn't show up to school. It had been almost two and a half weeks since I've seen or heard from either of them. Luffy is supposed to be released in two days and Bonnie was starting to get itchy, as well as Law. 

"Scarlet has never been down this long," Law said and looked at Bonnie during lunch. 

"I thought she would be back like four days ago," Bonnie said kept eating her pizza. I poked at my food, not wanting to eat it. I passed to Bonnie and she ate it for me real fast. I pulled out a cherry Dr. Pepper from my bag and snapped it open. "Oh shit, she got you hooked on those didn't she?" Bonnie called. I looked down at my soda. 

"Maybe I just like cherry, Dr. Pepper?" I said defensively. 

"Hell Nah, she got you hooked because I wouldn't touch that at first and now I put that shit in my ice cream." Bonnie snapped.

"A cherry Dr. Pepper float?" Chopper asked, looking up from his book. 

"Basically. Look, Zoro, don't even deny it. No one can," Bonnie said. I took a sip of my soda. The fizziness and the flavor went so well together. Fuck, she got me hooked. "Told ya," and stuck her tongue out, then went back to eating. 

 

The next day, Bonnie got the call from the girl knew, Donia. It was the middle of the night when Bonnie told me, and that she was on her way. I was still at dojo, working out and I was so tempted to leave and go to Scarlet's. But I went home and let Bonnie do her thing. When I got home, I poured a giant bowl of cereal and headed upstairs to my room. I got inside and set my bowl down before up my guitar that sat in the corner of my room. It was the one Scarlet gave me for Christmas, I got it in the mail wondering who the hell would send such a giant ass box to me. When I opened it, the guitar looked up at me and I was speechless. It had to have cost a pretty fucking penny. My gift couldn't even compare to this gift. My dad was there to witness me getting the guitar, and I had to get up and pace around to hold my excitement. I sat on my bed and started to play some chords, just messing around. It was to the beat of "Happy Pills" by Weathers and I just started thinking about cherry Dr. Peppers and flames, and how they reminded me of her. I began to whistle to the tune and it became a song of its own, but it was in my head, and there it would remain. I just need to give her time, she just needed time; I kept telling myself that I can't surround her the next time I see her, I have to be relaxed. My time was counting down and I knew it. I only had two months to tell her how I felt or Franky would. I'm not even that mad that I made that deal with Franky because I had three months to tell her, but each day that she was away reminded me that she's gone because of her love for Ace. I wasn't going to tell her anytime soon out of respect for Scarlet and Ace. 

I knew that Ace and I didn't exactly have a rivalry because I didn't admit to myself that I liked her two months before died. When he kissed her, it woke me up and I realized that I got a little jealous, and it kind of hurt. But seeing her rip herself away and run I had only one thing on my mind: was Scarlet okay? And it was like that every time a guy would give her shit. I got so mad and every time it happens, my rage only got worse, I even fought against a drugged out guy in a gorilla costume. I was becoming so protective of her, I didn't even realize what my feelings were. It was so fucking complicated too, I still wanted to be there for her but I kept telling myself that Ace was the only one for her. That in the end, it would be him. But no matter how much I told myself that, every moment I spent with her, my feelings would only get stronger. Heat would rise to my face and lightning would shoot through my body. It was like she was the sun and I was Icarus, knowing how then end, she wouldn't choose me but I chose to be around her anyway. 

Now Ace was dead, he was gone, and she couldn't choose him. But I will not be the asshole that approaches her, goddamnit. She doesn't deserve that. She's been through enough already and doesn't need my feelings to add any more misery or confusion. I'll tell her one day, but not today, or tomorrow, or even in a week or two. Every day I saw her, her smile slowly returning and the cracks starting to heal. It doesn't matter that it's been eight months since he died, it doesn't matter that my feelings won't go away. Even during the summer when I rarely saw her they still stuck, I could never understand them.

I stopped playing my guitar and my eyes started to create whispers of tears. My entire life felt like a shopping cart filled with trash on fucking fire.


	33. Rouge Empires and Reckless Nations

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A sudden change in the lineup for the girls is trying to be worked out while the boys finally help Zoro out with his feelings.

I looked at Nami like she owned the biggest dumb bitch energy in the room. 

"You want me to do, what?" I asked.

"I want you to sing a song," Nami wrote in her notebook. She refused to speak today because all the practicing took a toll on her voice. She was chugging lemon and honey tea and was already on her third cup. We met up four months ago to start practicing for the stupid competition that I got dragged into because of Bonnie informing Nami and Robin that I could play the electric guitar. 

"Why the fuck would I sing?" I asked, Nami took another sip of her tea and cringed. She scribbled her reply.

"Because we're supposed to sing three songs, correct? Well, I could maybe sing one song, that's a fucking problem." I groaned as I finished reading it. 

"We've practiced so much we should be able to play Halestorm song, so just pick one," Bonnie said. 

"Well fuck, we're already playing Love Bites and Bad Romance, what the fuck else do you want me to do?" I barked. 

"How about we play other songs that we've practiced and converted? I liked when we practiced that Ariana Grande song, and R.I.P 2 My Youth," Robin said. We were at her house sitting in the kitchen while Robin made us some eggs. We had spent the night so we knew none of us would be late and so we could practice more. A month and a half ago, we practiced every day, except when I went to Nationals, since then, I basically lived at Robin's. 

"Yeah, I'm super burnt out on "Love Bites"," Bonnie said pouring a glass of orange juice. 

"Then why not change it up? I'll sit this show out and make sure our sound equipment is okay," Nami wrote. I felt bad that Nami couldn't be in the show, she had been so excited for it and seven hours until the show, and she can't sing all that well. 

"Okay fine, I think I have some songs in mind then," I said and explained to them my lineup. It was a little different, but if I had to sing, these songs I knew the best. 

"I think we can work well with this," Robin said and sipped her coffee. 

"Great, let's just do a quick practice and get ready. I'm sure the boys have something up their sleeve." Bonnie said and threw back her orange juice. 

 

-X-

Zoro pov:

 

Oh, how we did not have our shit together. Seven hours until the concert and we were still arguing on the last minute details. 

"Brook, if you would just shut up and let me-" Luffy began but Brook broke him off.

"No! That chord sounds fucking terrible and has no point at all in the song! It will mess up the entire flow!" Brook argued. I groaned and Franky did so with me. He passed me his cola and took a swig from it. Usopp was also there but Franky was here for moral support. If anyone had a manager title, it would have been Franky. Chopper had to work a shift at the clinic and said he would be there later for the show along with Sanji, who also took a morning shift so he could go to the show tonight. We had finally agreed to play "Take Me Out," by Franz Ferdinand, "Cherry Hill" by Russ, and "Bloodfeather" by Highly Suspect. Our lineup had constantly changed, and finally, we had settled on what we would play. But now we were arguing about how we would play it. 

"OH MY GOD SHUT UP!" Franky yelled. "Luffy, no, you guys are not putting that into the song, it really does make it sound awful. That's final." the entire room went silent. 

"You guys are going to make him pop a blood vessel one day," I commented and took a drink from Franky's cola.

"Let's just take a break," Usopp said and slowly placed his electric down. 

"Is it just me or does a fucking omelet sound so good right now?" I asked and looked around. 

"Nah, muffins sound good," Brook said nodded to the air. Sometimes really wondered if Brook smoked weed and just didn't tell us. I know Usopp and Luffy did for a fucking fact. 

We took a break and headed down to a coffee shop down the road from Brook's. Brook lived in his house that inherited when his parents died. He pays the bills with what he makes from music and drove his dad's car, a black 2014 Toyota Yaris. He currently lived alone without anyone but us to keep him company. I think because of this, Sanji often hung out with Brook and stayed the night frequently, they probably smoked weed and watched a bunch of movies, to be honest.

I ordered the strongest espresso with a shot of caramel and a giant ass cinnamon roll, everyone else got their own thing and I just sat there wondering what the fuck I was going to do tonight. I had until the last song to tell Scarlet how I felt and honestly I wished I had more time because Ace died like eleven months ago. I would have been comfortable it being like six months to never. But Franky wouldn't budge, and I felt like I was going to have an anxiety attack because of it. Everyone sat down and started to bullshit each other until Franky brought up something that made me choke on my coffee.

"So everyone here knows about the giant crush that Zoro has on Scarlet, right?" Franky said. I started choking. 

"Yeah, I mean it's painfully obvious," Usopp said. 

"Yeah, I saw that in like, last year," Luffy replied. 

"Sometimes I laugh at how much Scarlet doesn't see by the way he acts," Brook said. I ran to the trash can and spit out my coffee and started coughing. 

"Okay well, I made him a deal that I wouldn't say shit to her until the last song they play tonight to at least fucking tell her," Franky started to explain.

"Wait, when did you make the deal?" Usopp asked.

"Over Christmas break last year, but I gave him more since the original deal was to tell her when our junior year ended," Franky said. I slowly came back to the table.

"Boy, what the fuck you've had like almost six months!" Luffy said. 

"Shut up," I barked. "I was going to at that New Years party but then she got that phone call and I didn't want to be that dick, and I found out they were dating," I explained while coughing.

"I'll excuse it then," Luffy said glaring at me while slowly sipping at his tea, never breaking eye contact. 

"Anyways-," Franky tried to move on but Brook intervened.

"How close did you get?" Brook asked.

"WHAT THE FUCK BROOK!" I yelled and heat rose to my face, I got hushed by the employees.

"Not like that, I mean how close did you get before telling her?" Brook said. I looked away, still red and mumbled my answer. 

"I couldn't hear you, bro," Franky said. I mumbled a little louder.

"Jesus Christ, speak up!" Usopp barked at me.

"WE ALMOST KISSED! THERE!" I yelled and got hushed again. 

"HOLY SHIT, EXPLAIN!" Luffy yelled and crawled on the table. 

"Sir, if you don't quite down-" an employee came over and tried to tell us, but Usopp barked back.

"NO. Our boy here has had a mad crush on someone and they almost kissed! We need them details!" Usopp barked. The employee looked at us seriously but pulled a chair to our table and sat down.

"Yah boy better be good at storytelling, continue." the employee said. I just stared at the employee but cleared my throat.

"So remember when we got there and we gave her that cherry Taka?" I began. 

"Vaguely but yes," Franky said. Usopp scooted closer.

"Well, we had drunk all of it except maybe a fourth of the last bottle while walking along the beach. We were just talking and bullshitting, even cracking jokes. We didn't even mix it with anything, we just passed the bottles to each other. When we got finished with one, she got a piece of paper and wrote "The Earth is Flat" on it and put in the bottle, then tossed it out to sea." I explained. Everyone laughed.

"Fucking nice," Franky said. 

"Anyway, we just started walking closer and closer to each other and at one point we stopped and was looking into the sea wondering if we could still see the bottle. It was really cold and she was really drunk so she kind of just leaned on me at one point and caught her from falling. And we just got closer and closer until we were just about to kiss, and her fucking phone rang." I said. 

"That's some bad luck that's straight out of the movies, dude." the employee told me.

"That's not even the half of it! After the phone call, I found out that she was with a guy, and I didn't see her again until two weeks later! And I'm like 98% sure he totally forgot about it. I felt so guilty about it that I barely spoke to her until after the summer," explained. 

"Ouch, that's rough buddy," the employee said and got up, put the chair back, and went back behind the counter. I groaned. 

"I got fucking Sakad," I said. The famous line Prince Zuko once said, "That's rough buddy".

"I mean, he's not wrong," Brook said. 

"You have some of the worst luck I've ever seen," Luffy said. "But thanks for backing off after you found out, I really appreciate it,". I looked at Luffy and I felt myself being brought down.

"Are you sure you're okay with this? I mean, she was your brother's girlfriend," I asked, hesitatingly. I was afraid to ask this question but at this point, I knew he knew and I didn't want things to be weird between me and Luffy. 

"Dude, I can't make a decision for her, it's her feelings and her choice. Yes, she was with my brother but it's almost been a whole year and they were only together for two months. Besides, I think you'll be good for each other," Luffy said taking a huge bite out of his food. The thought of Luffy being totally okay with my feelings made me feel a thousand times better. It made me feel way less guilty too. 

"Anyways, well we have to figure out how our boy is going to tell, I would really hate to be one that told her," Franky said. Luffy got back into his seat and Usopp scooted back.

"Wait, aren't we playing "Cherry Hill"?" Brook asked.

"OH, THAT WOULD BE PERFECT! YOU COULD BE THE ONE TO SING THAT SONG!" Franky yelled. We waited for the employee to hush us but instead, he came over and handed me a muffin.

"On the house, piece of advice: I usually have alcohol in me when I confess my feelings, especially if singing is involved," he said and left at that.

"He's right, if I do that, I need to be drunk off my ass. There's no way I'm going to able to do that sober," I said and picked up my muffin. I was going to get drunk before the concert anyways because I hate performing but free booze is free booze. 

"Yeah, but it's not like getting the alcohol is a problem for us," Luffy said. 

"True, but we're going to need to get a lot for this heavyweight champ," Usopp pointed out. 

"Can he play the guitar drunk?" Brook asked.

"I think I can," I said. 

"Well that's it then, we'll get him drunk and he'll sing "Cherry Hill", pass me the sugar please," Brook said. 

"I feel like I'm in fucking fan fiction," I said and finished my muffin. 

-X-

Scarlet:

We arrived at the show dressed up with full faces of makeup and outfits that made us look like we had strode of the front cover of Vogue. I had on black thigh high boots with a three-inch heel that could stab someone, ripped up black shorts and a strappy crop top that showed a lot of cleavages. With the help of Nami, my hair became curly waves that entangled to one side of my face with my bangs pushed back. I painted my lips with a dark red that graduated to black and my eyes were had full winged eyeliner that smoked out with purples, browns, and blacks. 

Bonnie wore a leather jacket that hung on her elbows with a black lace crop top and high waisted shorts with fishnets, and black combat boots. She lips were blue and had a splash of blue sparkles across her nose; her hair put up into s messy pink ponytail.

Robin had on a tank top that tied together with string that stopped at the before her belly button, revealing her new belly button piercing that I had pierced for her. Black leather pants and strappy purple heels. Black lipstick and eyeliner was the only makeup she needed and left her hair down and straight. 

Although Nami wasn't going to perform, she looked like she was. A black bikini top and ripped up high waisted jeans with fishnets that rose above her jeans. She did a nude colored lipstick and eyes that were browns and golds with eyeliner. Her hair was braided together in a fishtail ponytail that relaxed onto her shoulder. A whistle blew from behind the counter as we arrived, all ready tons of people began to crowd inside. 

"Shakey!" Nami said and ran over to an older woman with a black bob, smoking a cigarette. 

"Hey, girlie, hows your crew?" Shakey asked. "Take a seat, no one start for another twenty minutes." she picked up four glasses and put them in front of us. Bonnie and I took our seats real fast. 

"Trouble as always," Nami said and rolled her eyes. Shakey laughed that whole and warm. 

"Robin, every time I see you, you look more and more like your mom, how is she?" Shakey asked she Robin sat down. Robin smiled.

"She's in the Amazons right now studying ancient tribes," Robin said and Shakey gave Robin a wide and intrigued smile. 

"Has she found anything yet?" Shakey asked.

"Currently, just some pottery and old buildings but right now they're digging and she has a feeling it can lead to something big," Robin explained.

"I'd trust her gut feeling better than anyone. She'll find something, darling. That's for damn sure," Shakey said and looked over me and Bonnie. 

"Well well here are some faces I haven't seen," Shakey said and glanced at Robin and smiled. 

"You've probably seen this one's," Bonnie and a poked at me. 

"Ah, you're the Black Rose's girl aren't you? Thorne and I are old friends," Shakey said to me and took a puff of her cigarette. 

"Yeah, I'm Scarlet Boa," I said and smiled. Shakey's smile widened and she looked at me while raising her eyebrow, then looked at Nami and Robin. 

"You two girls brought in the offspring of the most powerful people around?" Shakey asked Nami and Robin then looked back to me. " I've heard some whispers about you, darling. You'll definitely grab some attention," 

"At least today I look good," I said deadpanned and Bonnie laughed and threw up her hand for a high five.

"We're kind of used to it, I'm Bonnie Jewelry," Bonnie said with a smirk. Shakey took another drag off of her cigarette. 

"Oh, I know exactly who you are, Bonnie, and I like all that the rumors have to say," Shakey said and smiled. 

"I've heard that you know everything about everyone in this town," Bonnie replied. Shakey nodded her head slowly and gave a knowing look. Just looking into her eyes made me feel like I was starring down a library filled with information about everyone.

"Can't say I know everything, but I do keep up with the grapevine. People seem to talk when you slip a little devil's drink," Shakey said. "You girls brought you IDs?". 

"We did," Bonnie and I said and slammed them down on the table. Donia hooked us up with a guy who did professional fake IDs that were good enough to fool scanners. They had the hologram and everything. Shakey picked them up and looked at them and look back at us.

"These are remarkable, although you didn't need to be twenty-two. Give me some information, and you can whatever you want on the shelf," Shakey said and looked at me.

"Okay, depending on what information, I'll just give you double, one for me and Bonnie here," I said. Shakey smiled. 

"Hey, we're going to go set up our stuff, come find us when you're done," Nami said and left with Robin disappearing into the crowd. 

"Okay," I said and looked back at Shakey.

"Tell me, why did Admiral Ukama come in with a broken nose and coughing blood?" Shakey asked. Bonnie looked at me and smiled a big grin. I clapped my hands together and took a deep breath. 

"I beat the shit out of him with his fraternity paddle because he wouldn't sign my adoption papers," I said. Shakey's eye widened and she started laughing.

"You beat the shit out of the most decorated admiral with his own frat bat?? Oh, that's golden, I've hated that fucker. Glad he got what was coming to him," Shakey said. "Alright, a deal is a deal, what's your poison?".

"Cherry Taka, Kraken, and cherry Dr. Pepper," I said. Bonnie whistled. 

"That sounds a good combination for later. I'll take cherry Dr. Pepper and Jack D. please," Bonnie said. Shakey nodded and turned around started to pull bottles down from the shelf.

"Wait, didn't I show you that while I was still living in the apartment?" I asked. 

"Yeah, that doesn't mean I can't drink it," Bonnie said. 

"Do these drinks have names?" Shakey asked and put them down in front of us. 

"No, not really," I said and looked at Bonnie.

"A drink is not complete without a name," Shakey said and started to put away the bottles.

"Kraken's Lullaby and Jack's Affair!" Bonnie popped off. I snapped my fingers and gave her a cheesy ass finger gun. 

"Bonnie you beautiful bitch," I said and downed my Kraken's Lullaby. Shakey smiled and said goodbye, for she had other customers to attend to. People kept pouring inside and the bar was getting to get crowded. I started to get really nervous and my heart rate started to beat faster and faster. When the door opened up again, I looked and walking inside was The Reckless Nation.


	34. Screaming Anxiety

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Rouge Empire steps up to the stage and Scarlet unmasks her own feelings.

Jackets, t-shirts, boots, and flannels. They were all dressed in clothes that Usopp did his best to coordinate. But the only person I could look at was Zoro. He wore his usual leather jacket and had a green flannel underneath, I recognized it was the same one she wore to the New Year's party. He had on black jeans that were ripped and had black combat boots. He looked around and saw me and made eye contact. He immediately started walking towards me and Bonnie. I looked at Bonnie, panicking. She cringed and picked up my drink and held it to my lips.

"Drink honey, you're going to need it," she whispered and I chugged the rest of it. Thank god for a matte lipstick. 

"Damn you guys already starting?" Zoro asked and gave me a wicked grin. It made my heart skip a beat. The rest of the boys trailed behind him but dispersed into the crowd and laughed.

"Why don't you get started? We'll check out the sound equipment," Usopp said and winked, the left with everyone else.

"Don't mind if I do," Zoro said and ordered tequila and soda. I smiled and the alcohol started to warm my face. 

"So who do you think will win tonight?" I asked and looked around, the place started to really pack up. The first band was to perform at any moment. 

"Definitely us," Zoro said and gave me another smirk before taking his first sip. 

"What makes you think that?" I asked and Bonnie smiled.

"Because it would be a damn shame not to be able to see you in prison clothes. I heard they make the woman's clothing two sizes too small on purpose," Zoro said and looked at me as if I were the only woman in the world. My heart pounded in my chest and my whole body felt like a melting pot. 

"Too bad, you'll be the one in a jumpsuit tonight," I said and smirked. Then a woman on stage got up and announced the start of the band battle. Each band was to go by the order the signed up and will be judged by how well they played, and how much the crowd liked their performance. Then she called the first band on stage. We kept drinking until the first band went on stage. They called themselves "Angels' Witness" and they played "Praying" by Kesha and other mainstream pop songs. They weren't too bad and I like the singer's voice. Each band went up on stage and played three songs and left after being judged. The crowd gave a moderate cheer and they were sent backstage. Zoro and I kept drinking and Bonnie tried to remain sober so that she can drag me on stage on time. Seventy bands signed up and we were some of the last ones to sign up so we didn't go for a while. Zoro and I even started flirting, it felt so good to cut loose and just pound some drinks while listening to live music. After over thirty bands, I was cut off and after fifty Bonnie had to drag me backstage. I said bye to Zoro as I giggled and Zoro said bye back and ordered another drink. 

Once we got backstage, I was still giggling. Nami and Robin were in the back of the room messing with our instruments when they looked up and started to laugh. 

"Was she flirting with someone?" Nami asked, her voice still hoarse. She knew right then, with one look.

"Oh, how she's lucky in love. They're almost lovesick," Bonnie said and sat down at her drums.

"Who was she flirting with?" Robin asked and I picked up my guitar, letting my imagination run wild.

"Zoro," Bonnie said and Robin giggled. 

"Called it," Nami said almost coughing but I didn't pay them any mind. My drunk mind just kept thinking about him. And how nice it would be to be in his arms, or how his lips would feel. I hadn't felt this way since Ace died.

"Okay, song lineup, what is it?" Robin asked.

"Alessia Cara, Jack & Jack, and uh Crazy," I said and picked up my guitar.

"Okay, well all the equipment seems, good, we've been practicing for months, and after two more bands, we're up," Bonnie said and took a deep breath. There was so much happening all at one time. Bands were milling around, the crowd was shouting, and instruments and equipment were being tested. The very floor was shaking and it all starting to make my head pound.

"Anyone else getting nervous?" I asked. 

"Me," Robin said meekly.

"And I," Bonnie said but she took deep breaths. But the thought of going out there on stage with tons of people watching started to get to me. My heart was pounding and I no longer had sweet thoughts of Zoro, but rather, what if we played bad and I ended up embarrassing myself? Or what if we lose and get sent to impel down and have to spend the night? My breathing became ragged and I felt myself slipping out of control. Bonnie got up and went over to me, then looked me in the eye.

"Scarlet," she said. I looked up at her my breath still out of control. "Deep breaths for me, come on, deep breaths," she coached me. She reached up and cradled my face. "I love you, bitch and I ain't never gonna stop loving you, bitch." I laughed but tried to take deep breaths.

"Oh my god," I said and shook my head.

"You got this okay, you are a siren ready to lure men to their deaths okay? You are ready to make their girlfriend's jealous, and their boyfriends hard. Are you ready to kill?" Bonnie asked. My breathing became regular.

"Always," I said. Bonnie and I smiled and the band before us went up on stage. 

"One last drink?" She asked and smirked.

"Always,". 

 

-X-

 

I walked onstage like I calm and collect as the announcer called our name, Nami went back into the crowd and I scanned the room for the boys. I found Zoro at the bar, and he raised a drink at me with Franky before Usopp and Brook tried dragging them backstage. But Franky and Zoro stayed. My heart was pounding. My guitar was ready. I knew all the notes and words and the bars to play, now all I needed to do was to play. So, I put up a rock star front. I learned how to pretend, but right now I was faking it until I made it. 

"Good evening Grand Line! I'm Scarlet, this is Robin and this Bonnie, and we're Rouge Empire." I said and the crowd cheered and I heard some whistles from the crowd. I took another deep breath and played the first notes to "Here" by Alessia Cara. 

"I'm sorry if I seem uninterested, I'm sorry if I seem uninterested

Or I'm not listenin' or I'm indifferent  
Truly, I ain't got no business here  
But since my friends are here  
I just came to kick it but really  
I would rather be at home all by myself not in this room," I sang, my voice vibrating into the mic as I gave it my all. I heard Bonnie's drums and Robins base. It went together so perfectly. The crowd began to stir and I already heard cheers.

"With people who don't even care about my well being

I don't dance, don't ask, I don't need a boyfriend  
So you can go back, please enjoy your party  
I'll be here, somewhere in the corner under clouds of marijuana  
With this boy who's hollering, I can hardly hear  
Over this music, I don't listen to and I don't wanna get with you  
So tell my friends that I'll be over here!" I sang and sang.

" Oh-oh-oh here oh-oh-oh here oh-oh-oh

I ask myself what am I doing here?  
Oh-oh-oh here oh-oh-oh here  
And I can't wait till we can break up outta here!" I still had to more songs to perform and my heart was about to leap out of my chest. I had this, I had this. I could do this. I could see people in the crowd dancing and holding up their drinks. I was doing good so far but I needed to do better. When the song ended, I was almost gasping and I chugged a thing of water. I heard cheers and whistles again. I laughed a bit and winked at the crowd. More cheers and whistles. I began on the next song. This song was deeply personal that I've felt for a long time. And I no longer saw it as something I needed to keep inside. I started my verse to "2 Cigarettes" by Jack and Jack.

"Lately I can feel us drifting

Both of us been acting different  
We used to be so consistent  
Is there nothing left to say, say

Lately, I can feel us drifting

Both of us were acting differently  
We used to be so consistent  
Is there nothing left to say, say" My voice was in a low key and I let it out all out. It was one of the songs I connected with when Ace and I began to drift off, and when he died it hit me even more. The crowd started to sway and nod their heads. Drinks were raised once again.

"I smoke two cigarettes and I don't even smoke, no  
Now the sun's coming up and I'm halfway sober  
And I know it won't but I'm still here hoping

That it gets better now, whoa

How'd it get so complicated?

Can't even have no conversation  
Past the point of trying to save it  
But we push it to another day, hey" I danced with my guitar and I was almost screaming into the mic. I could see some girls crying in the crowd but I would not stop. This was me now, I needed this. 

" Now I see your face and I just don't know you

Like the picture's there but it's not quite focused  
And I know it won't but I'm still here hoping  
That it gets better now, it gets better now," every single note was for me to get better and I got so lost in the music. Then when it came for the time, Bonnie's mic turned on. 

" You got me fucked up, damn

I'm really tryin' to let go  
But I can't delete the messages  
When you said you'd be my girl forever, shit  
Now it's been a week and it's really starting to settle in  
We were movin' full speed, now we just back-pedalin'  
All those other couples that were fallin' out of love," she rapped while drumming. It was an amazing sight, and amazing to listen to. "We would always talk about how we were so far ahead of them

The energy between us, it was heaven sent  
Then it went straight from A+ to the negatives  
Outta control, that was after I got off of the road  
You hadn't seen me in like, 45 days." she continued to rap. I continued to sway and play my guitar and dance a little. She rapped more and more until she was done with her last verse. "Nah, wait, this ain't the girl I know, C'mon, where she at?

Give her back  
Just makin' my jokes, didn't even crack a smile, damn  
That's all it took for me to know there was another man  
It's all downhill," she finished. I took a deep breath and the crowd was going wild at this point. I opened my mouth and sang the last of the song. 

"No more late nights, us just talking

Used to FaceTime, now you just calling  
It's no one's fault but some things just fall apart, yeah  
I smoke two cigarettes and I don't even smoke, no  
Now the suns coming up and I'm halfway sober  
And I know it won't but I'm still here hoping  
That it gets better now, whoa," I let out." I smiled and looked around and found Zoro again. He smiled at me and winked. I winked back and fought myself from collapsing. The next song was the hardest to sing. Normally, I would run and hide and shove the feelings aside. But I couldn't do that again, not ever. Last time I did that, I missed out and now all I feel is regret and sorrow about it. Maybe if I could at least let them be known, there could be the next step. It could help me heal and help me move on from this pain. I started out with a slow and sexy beat. A piano played in the background, Nami was playing it from backstage. It was a spin-off of a remix we found, one that we all enjoyed for a very long time.

" Uh oh, uh oh, uh oh, oh, no, no yes," I started and started to sway. I never viewed myself as sexy, but tonight, that's exactly what I could be. My body rolled and moved to the beat. "It's so crazy right now

Uh oh, uh oh, uh oh, oh, no, no  
Uh oh, uh oh, uh oh, oh, no, no  
Uh oh, uh oh, uh oh, oh, no, no  
Uh oh, uh oh, uh oh, oh, no," I breathed and licked my lips. I rolled my shoulders and pouted my lips, and gave the crowd a faraway look, then smiled. The crowd erupted and Robin came and stood beside me. We stood back to back and she sang with me. 

"You got me looking, So crazy, my baby, I'm not myself. Lately, I'm foolish, I don't do this.

I've been playing myself, baby I don't care, baby, your love got the best of me, 

Baby, you love got the best of me. Baby your love got the best of me.

Baby, you're making a fool of me, you got me sprung and I don't care who sees.

'Cause baby you got me, you got me," I sang slowly and wistfully as every note gave you a feeling of pure touch, like a soft moan in your ear. I left out a slow gasp that rang through the building and everyone hushed at the sound of it. Then Bonnie played her first note on the drums giving it bass and Robin turned up her guitar, and we shot through the silence together with my electric.

"I look and stare so deep in your eyes

I touch on you more and more every time  
When you leave, I'm begging you not to go  
Call your name two or three times in a row  
Such a funny thing for me to try to explain  
How I'm feeling and my pride is the one to blame  
I still don't understand,  
Just how your love can do what no one else can," the crowd almost couldn't take it and Bonnie was grinning to ear to ear. I looked at Nami and she was so into the music she was signing it silently to herself, eyes closed and entrapped. I gasped into the mic and I looked at Zoro, who starred at me with eyes wide clutching his drink. I gave him a wicked smirk and looked away giving the crowd more. "Got me looking so crazy right now, your love's

Got me looking so crazy right now   
Got me looking so crazy right now, your touch  
Got me looking so crazy right now  
Got me hoping you'll page me right now, your kiss  
Got me hoping you'll save me right now  
Looking so crazy in love's  
Got me looking, got me looking so crazy in love," I sang. The remix we spun off of didn't have anyone rapping in it, it was just Beyonce with a sexy beat that was so perfect for us to play. We continued to play and I crowd was jumping. I could feel the bass and the floor shake, it was almost a spiritual experience. I even saw some couples making out, and bodies rubbing against each other with every breath sounding so desperate. I breathed and stopped playing my guitar, the piano and drums and bass still going. I grabbed the mic and sung my last verse."Looking so crazy in love's

Got me looking, got me looking so crazy in love," I gave another gasp and licked my lips. The crowd shook the building and I smirked. 

"THANK YOU GRAND LINE!" I shouted and we ran off stage with our instruments. It took us a minute to get Bonnie's drums off the stage but we were on a high. I stumbled backstage and everyone started clapping. Bonnie was laughing and Nami came over and gave us a group hug. 

"We managed to turn on an entire crowd!" Bonnie yelled and started laughing hysterically.

"I can't believe that just happened," Robin said and I could barely speak. I was in shock, I just sang in front of a huge crowd. I strutted, danced, sang, and winked at people. My heart was pounding out of my chest. 

"Watch the boys beat that," Nami said, voice still hoarse.


	35. The Last Drink For The Words to Say

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Reckless nation takes the stage shortly after the girls and decides to switch things up for a chance to win the competition. In doing so, no one notices Zoro chugging something out of Usopp's duffle bag backstage.

Zoro's Pov:

When I first saw Scarlet that night, it slammed me in the heart. She was sitting at the bar with Bonnie as we walked in. She was laughing and talking with the bartender and Bonnie and she was wearing an outfit so sexy, that it made my heart pound. She must have felt me staring because she looked my way and we made eye contact. She quickly looked away and Bonnie helped her down a drink. Franky nudged my shoulder and gestured to walk over to her. I looked at him pleading but he stared down at me.

"She's gonna know at some point tonight, bro. Go on," he said and my head spun. I took a deep breath and nodded. Fake it until you make it right? I went up to her and it just felt natural again. I ordered a drink and I felt like even though I was super anxious, I could talk to her. Everything kinda clicked and fell into place. We kept drinking and watched the other bands perform. A Lot of them were pretty good and it was a really good time laughing and talking with Scarlet. It even evolved into flirting, I didn't have much experience but with her, I felt like I could do anything. 

Bonnie eventually had to drag her backstage and it made me a little sad, I really wanted to keep talking to Scarlet. But I was also excited to see them perform. I ordered another drink and by the time I was halfway done, Franky came to join me and see how I was doing. He ordered one for himself and waited for the girls to get up on stage. 

"What kind of magic do you think they will pull tonight?" Franky asked. I shrugged.

"I don't know, but apparently Nami is singing and Bonnie on the drums. Robin plays the base, and Scarlet is holding the down the electric spot," I said and sipped again at my drink. The room was blurry from all the lights and cigarette smoke. You walk two feet anywhere, and you'll get lost like a vapor, through the smoke and the people.

We watched as Scarlet strutted on stage with Robin and Bonnie, but no Nami. Scarlet got up to mic and she greeted everyone while smiling. I couldn't believe it, I looked at Franky and his mouth was wide open as Scarlet sang her first note. It was low and controlled but shook the building.

"I thought Nami was singing!" Franky said, still staring as Scarlet sang and played the guitar while dancing a bit. 

"Apparently not," I gasped and began to listen to every note she breathed. I had never heard Scarlet sing, I didn't even know she could sing. I almost couldn't believe it, Scarlet was amazing. 

The first song, "Here" was something that hyped me up and I could relate to on many occasions and her second song was for her. Her second song was filled with so much emotion it hit the crowd hard, she brought them up, and now down with "2 Cigarettes". Listening to the lyrics, I knew who she felt this about. It was for Ace. She was finally giving her last bit of pain to the crowd, and finally letting herself fully heal. The wave hit me too and I was glad that tonight I at least got to tell her my feelings. 

But the most shocking thing about tonight was the last song. I heard the piano and the entire mood in the room changed. Scarlet had her head down as she started to play the first notes on her guitar. When she rose her head and gave a gasp, she showed a side of her that makes the entire room fall. It was a soft moan and the "uh uh no-nos," combined with the looks she gave the crowds, I could feel the sexual tension in the room. She moved so romantically and sexually that it made my breath stop, every fiber in my body had stopped and was listening. My hand stopped giving me a drink and I sat there clutching my cup. This was the hottest "Crazy in Love" cover I had ever heard, or bear witness to.

Most people had forgotten the pop jewel and were a guilty pleasure for a lot of indie or rock fans. But when you perform a cover, you think of the stuff that you can rock out how to get an entire crowd riled up. That's why you keep hearing or seeing Three Days Grace and Skillet pop up, not really Beyonce. Scarlet licked her lips and shook her hips that could give rise and roar engines. Then she looked at me, with my jaw dropped and completely entranced, and she gave me the sexiest grin and a wink. My heart nearly leaped out of my chest and I could almost feel my glass cracking. When she was done, the crowd erupted and she walked off stage with such confidence, it was sexy too. 

"Oh my god," I said and turned around, looking at my drink like it was holy. Franky whistled.

"She made an entire room hard," Franky said, surprised and laughing. I chugged my drink and felt the heat in my face. That song and that liquor made me determined. I could do this. Franky patted my back. "Ready, bro?"

"Ready as I'll ever be, I guess," I said and stumbled out of my seat. Holy shit I was drunk off my ass.

"Then let's go confess to the hottest woman in the world," Franky said and guided me backstage. Brook and Usopp took care of everything for me, and Luffy had the drums ready to go. Franky handed me my bass as I looked around for the girls, but by now, they were probably in the crowd. "Play the first thing on the top of your head," Franky instructed. I play the notes that Robin played from their last song. 

"Yay or nay?" I asked and looked up at Franky. 

"Sounds okay to me," Franky said and turned his head to look at Luffy, Brook, and Usopp. "Hey what you do you guys think?". 

"Well the real question is whenever we trust him to not get us in prison for a night," Usopp said.

"Maybe we should let Franky play the bass and just let Zoro sing, just to be sure," Brook suggested.

"Yeah guys, it would be weird if I called the warden and my gramps so that we could put ourselves in prison," Luffy pointed out. 

"I just don't want to go to prison," Usopp retorted. They all looked at each other and judged my fate. I was too far gone to play, but just the right amount of gone to sing in front of a crowd. "Why couldn't you just tell her ages ago, Zoro! Then we wouldn't be in this mess!" 

"Because I am really bad when it comes to feelings and shit okay? And it was your idea that I am doing this!" I slurred. 

"Oh damn, he is gone," Brook said. Franky took a deep breath. 

"Hey, everyone calm down. Look, Zoro can play, we just want to be careful. We have been practicing and playing for months now, and what is Zoro really good at? Muscle memory, that's how he remembers how to play. Honestly, I think he is good to play, but we need to look at the bigger picture here. Brook and Ias well as Zoro can sing and play the guitars, both kinds. Luffy can play the drums and Usopp can play electric." Franky started.

"Okay well, what do we do?" Usopp asked, reaching for a water bottle out of his duffle bag.

"I say we play this like a circus," Franky said and smirked.

 

-X-

 

Our name was called out on stage and we heard the audience begin to clap as well walked unto the stage. My heart was pounding and my face felt hot, but I kept moving anyway. Brook got up to mic and I held my guitar tightly. I took the left side of the stage and Franky took the right. Luffy had the back with his drums and Brook had the front. Brook starred at the crowd through thick pair of shades he nodded and Franky and Luffy immediately started playing. The sound was given so much energy the crowd was taken back.

"So if you're lonely," Brook began, giving it his all. "You know I'm here waiting for you!" I started playing and combined our sound and energy. "I'm just a crosshair,

I'm just a shot away from you  
And if you leave here  
You leave me broken, shattered, I lie  
I'm just a crosshair  
I'm just a shot, then we can die," Brook sang. He then started screaming into the mic "Ahhh ah ahhh,". The crowd began to jump and nod their heads. Luckily we had a drunk and kind of horney crowd, the type of the crowd you can amaze better. " I know I won't be leaving here with you, I say don't you know, You say you don't know." Brook held his breath before screaming int onto the mic, "I SAY TAKE ME OUT!". We continued to play where there was a break in singing in the song. I ran over to Franky and we met halfway on the stage before tossing both of our guitars in the air. Franky spun and caught my bass and I was lucky to catch his electric. I tossed the electric in the air to Usopp, who slid on stage to catch it. He caught it and immediately started playing as Brook continued to sing. I ran backstage and found Usopp's bag close to the stage. I opened it and took out his water bottle. It was a red liquid and I already knew what it was. I took a long swig of it. It was tequila mixed with cherry lemonade and sugar as well as pineapple rum and something that had a coconut kick to it. I coughed, knowing that this concoction has Bonnie and Scarlet written all over it. Their mix drinks spread like a virus and everyone liked whatever the fuck they managed to cook up. And by the way this was mixed, it was definitely supposed to knock you off your ass. Heat shot up to my face and I realized what the coconut was. I got up and started to run to the stage. Franky saw me and threw my bass into the air and I just barely caught it and quickly remembered the next notes I needed to play. 

"I say you don't show! Don't move, the tide is low!

I say, take me out! I say you don't know  
You say you don't know  
I say, take me out! If I move this could die  
Eyes move this can die  
I want you to take me out know I won't be leaving here (with you)  
I know I won't be leaving here  
I know I won't be leaving here (with you)  
I know I won't be leaving here with you," Brook sang and turned around where Franky has stepped up the mic. 

"I say don't you know!" Franky yelled and the crowd was really jumping at all the theatrics we had to put on. Franky and Luffy switched already and switched back. Brook switched with Usopp and Usopp ran backstage. We kept playing giving every bit of energy we could give. 

"You say you don't know  
I say, take me out! If I wane this could die  
I wait this could die  
I want you to take me out!" Franky kept singing and we kept playing the song making sure we didn't mess. We were relying on muscle memory and how well we knew the songs and instruments. And this song was only the first of three. 

"If I move this could die

Eyes move this can die  
Come on, take me out know I won't be leaving here (with you)  
I know I won't be leaving here  
I know I won't be leaving here (with you)  
I know I won't be leaving here with you!" Franky finished the crowd was already screaming. I started to take deep breaths, knowing all what I just drank. We took a minute to get back into our position before playing the next song. Then, Usopp can out from backstage already playing "Bloodfeather," by Highly Suspect. Luffy immediately started at the drums and once I heard the drums, I started at the bass. Brook was already backstage chugging water and Franky stepped up to the mic and gave the crowd a wicked grin.

"A Georgia rain just kissed my lips," Franky sang. "I live, I live for moments like this! Steady the rin girl. I know you won't miss, " Franky shook his and then cocked it as he sang.

"I wish that you would aim for the blood of my heart, yeah! And you know what you're doing, You know that it hurts, The worst, but I stand through the pain of it all, I'll follow you down to the edge of this earth, earth, earth." Franky kept going. Highly Suspect was a band that Franky brought to the table and ever since I heard their "Mister Asylum" I was hooked. We thought it should be Franky who would perform the best when it came to anything involving Highly Suspect. 

"In the name of love, I'll follow you

You fit me like a glove when I'm inside of you  
And if my body's dead and cold, I'd die for you  
In the name of love, I'll kill forI'll kill for you," Brook sang on a low octave as he came out from backstage, Usopp switched with him and Brook took the guitar and started on the notes Usopp left off on and Usopp ran backstage again. Then Frank joined him and they started to sing the rest of the lyrics together. 

"Your eyes, they could cut through diamonds and steel

For real, they're sharper than the blade in your hand  
They tell me you're strong, but they don't tell me what you feel  
I feel there's something that you want me to hear  
It's coming in loud and clear  
You know what you want, what you want, what you want!" I looked around for girls for the first time in the performance, but the sea of people that were in front of us made it really hard to pick through faces. 

"In the name of love, I'll follow you

You fit me like a glove when I'm inside of you  
And if my body's dead and cold, I'd die for you  
In the name of love, I'll killieforSticks and stones break my bones  
But bullet holes, you know they can't hurt me  
Invincible, unbreakable, unstoppable  
I'll show you who's worthy  
You grab the gun, I'll take the wheel," I looked again I really began to try and focus on the people. Then I saw something move in the corner of my eye and it was the mic. Franky had tossed it to me and he was smiling at me. I caught the mic and swung my bass around and hurled it and Franky caught it mid-spin. He already knew that I knew the words. I took a deep breath and tried to find Scarlet again but I need to sing now.

"FUCK THE WORLD MY LOVE IS REAL! FUCK THE WORLD MY LOVE IS REAL!" I sang at the top of my lungs. I started to jump up and down and throw up my arms as I rushed to the crowd. "FUCK THE WORLD MY LOVE IS RRRRREEEEEEEEEAAALLLLL!" I drug out the last word and I already stared with the next verse. "Shit's real, I need you to aim straight for my heart! And if you're gonna miss then hit my head and leave a permanent scar!" I looked around and I finally found Scarlet and the girls. They were huddled towards the back and Scarlet was dancing and singing along because she knew the words too. I looked directly at her and the alcohol hit me. 

"You're fatal but I love who you are  
Be my death or my forever  
You're my little blood feather  
Bloodfeather!" She was known to look at me smiling and both her and Bonnie raised their drinks at me. I handed Franky back the mic and he moved it, letting Brook sing as he continued to play. I ran backstage and went straight for Usopp's water bottle. I knew exactly what was in it and I knew what it would do to me. I threw back the rest anyway chugging it away. I was going to extremely regret this. I finished it, and just to be safe, I grabbed Brook's water and drank the rest of it too. 

"In the name of love, I'll follow you! You fit me like a glove when I'm inside of you! And if my body's dead and cold, I'd die for you

In the name of love, I'll kill for!" Brook sang. It was the last note of the song. The earth was spinning and my face felt extremely hot. "Bloodfeather" was such a high-intensity song and I was already worn down now. But at the same time, my heart was going crazy. I took another deep breath, and then another. I waited until I heard Luffy's drums play before I went back out there. I knew exactly what song we were playing now. Franky gave me back my guitar and I everything started to mellow out. I played my first notes and Usopp stood their still with Brook as Franky went backstage. Brook looked at me and I nodded at him, letting him know that I was sure. Brook then looked at the crowd as I continued to play and Brook started us off with the first verse. 

"You know what I'd do for you," Brook sang sadly. "I know what you'll do for me,". Brook reached his arm out and the crowd calmed and became mellow. "You'll see, the truth in me." I kept playing Usopp's electric joined in. 

"Maybe I'm a fool, maybe I'm a fool for you," Brook sang this verse twice and I played my bass as I approached the front of the stage. I found Scarlet and she was slowly swaying to the music. I stood next to the mic and I looked directly at her as I sang.

"Feelin' lonely in this room since I was seventeen

Thought this bottle was supposed to drown my memory  
But I'm still swimmin' in your vision and it's temptin' me  
But next time that I call I'm hopin' that you answer me," as I played. Then, Franky came back from backstage with a mic and we sang the chorus together.

"Maybe I'm a fool. Maybe I'm a fool for you. Maybe I'm a fool. Maybe I'm a fool for you." the chorus could have been better but my voice was very low and right now on the wispy side of things considered how much alcohol I ingested tonight. But still, nothing deterred me from my gaze on Scarlet. She was looking at me now but she was too far away to really make eye contact, and with the haze of smoke, I was surprised I had found her at all.

"You know what I'd do for you,

I know what you'd do for me  
You will see  
The truth in me, maybe I'm a fool  
Maybe I'm a fool for you  
Maybe I'm a fool  
Maybe I'm a fool for you," Franky sang next and then Brook slipped away and traded with Usopp. We tried to keep Luffy out of as much switching as possible because he easily forgot everything. And since we had never practiced this, we were taking a huge risk in the first place. I really did not like the idea of my bass being tossed around because of one false move and it's over. We're done, we didn't bring an extra bass. Even more so, the bass was brand new, it was the bass that Scarlet had given me for Christmas. My bass was one of my treasures.

"I'm looking for the place, Where I was falling into you

Dressed in sunlight, warmed the cold  
That lived inside me  
We shouldn't be here  
What we said  
When we were at  
The top of Cherry Hill," Franky sang with a deep and calming voice. I was still looking at Scarlet and she was still looking at me. I saw Bonnie look at her and then me. Bonnie cocked her head and read me like a book, her eyes widened and she looked back at Scarlet, who was still looking at me. Robin was giggling behind Scarlet and Nami was giving us a big grin. Bonnie shook Scarlet which broke her gaze from me and whispered in Scarlet's ear. Scarlet's eyes widened and she looked at me again, in complete shock. 

"Maybe I'm a fool. Maybe I'm a fool for you. Maybe I'm a fool. Maybe I'm a fool for you," I sang with the chorus. I felt like I was exposing myself, to everyone. But my body didn't care, it felt all warm and fuzzy and it was so hot I was almost ready to take off my shirt. Brook came out from backstage and I gave him my bass, letting him take over. 

"You know what I'd do for you

I know what you'd do for me  
You will see  
The truth in me. Maybe I'm a fool  
Maybe I'm a fool for you  
Maybe I'm a fool

Maybe I'm a fool for you," Brook sang and played the final notes. I shrunk backstage and the last thing I saw that night was Scarlet's hand over her mouth, tear welling in her eyes. Like a dam ready to break.


	36. She's a Fire

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After Zoro drinks too much, Scarlet is appointed to take care of him and sneaks him into her Aunts' house.

-Scarlet Pov-

 

"He's had the coconut mixture with something else, and my guess is that he's has had a lot," Bonnie whispered to me during the show. My eyes widened and I stared at Zoro. He was on stage completely gone and was a vessel of pure instinct. It was a wonder that he was still standing but he was also playing and singing, looking directly at me. Like he was trying to tell me something. I looked at Bonnie and turned around so I could address Nami and Robin.

"We need to get Zoro out of here," I said. Robin and Nami looked puzzled and looked at me.

"He's just drunk Scar," Nami whispered. I breathed through my nose and looked at Bonnie.

"He's about to have alcohol poisoning is what he is," Bonnie said bluntly. I didn't explain to them and I started to shove my way to get backstage. I shoved people out of my way and I wasn't nice about it. The guard didn't even bother stopping knowing I already performed. By the time I actually got backstage, the announcer was introducing the next band to the stage. I looked around and found Brook first, then Franky because of how they towered above everyone. I marched over there with anger and the other performers that were standing around got the fuck out of my way. I could hear the powerful click of my heel. Franky heard me first and turned around, he was smiling until he saw my expression. He froze and held his hands up and waited until I got over there before he spoke.

"Okay, what did we do?" Franky said and the boys froze. Usopp and Brook looked at me while they set Zoro on the floor. I pointed at Zoro.

"That! What made you think that giving him that would be a good idea!"I said with burning fury. 

"What are you talking about? He's only had stuff from the bar all night." Brook asked questionably. 

"Uh guys, I don't think so," Usopp said and he reached into his bag, and pulled out an empty hard plastic water bottle. There was red liquid at the very bottom that barely covered it. 

"That better not be what I think it is," I said. Usopp threw up his hands.

"I swear it for later tonight! I had no idea he had gotten into until just now!" Usopp pleaded fear etched into his eyes. Bonnie had finally caught up with me with Nami and Robin. Zoro was still on the floor playing with his phone with a drunken smile. 

"What the fuck is that?" Franky asked and walked over to Usopp to take the bottle from him.

"It's a Red Dawn," I said and Franky opened the bottle to smell it after one sniff his eyes widened and connected the dots.

"Oh fuck! Did he have that entire bottle?!" Bonnie asked.

"What is a Red Dawn?" Robin asked. I sighed and glared at Usopp. 

"It's the most alcoholic drink in our arsenal. You're supposed to have a small glass and sip it over time. You drink and the next thing you see his dawn. Scarlet created it." Bonnie informed.

"Jesus Christ, what's in it?" Brook asked and I took a deep breath.

"The drink itself is pineapple rum, cherry lemonade mixed tequila. Which is perfectly fine, but its the coconut flavor that is dangerous. It's a whole process. Using sugars and corn syrup with water, I put in coconut extract and create coconut jolly rancher. I have literally boil it and stir for hours. Then, once it hardens, I pour the candy into a bottle of pure vodka and let it soak and infuse for three days. After that, I put it back on the burner and mix everclear in it, boiling it together. I create the cherry lemonade using tequila instead of water and add tons of sugar. Once I combine those, I put a dash of pineapple rum to give a tropical flavor." I explained. Everyone was silent for a moment.

"Why the fuck would you make that?!" Franky yelled. "That could kill someone!"

"You don't think I know that! I only have it in eight-ounce portions, I drink it because sometimes I get horrible insomnia and its the only thing that can put my ass to sleep!" I yelled back. 

"Oh my god, and knowing Zoro he probably chugged it," Usopp said taking the bottle back from Franky. I ran over to Zoro sat down in front of him. He looked up to me and was smiling.

"Hey Scarlet," he said slowly. His pupils were dancing his body was limp. 

"Hey moss head," I said. I looked up at Bonnie, who was right behind me. "At least he can talk."

"You look so pretty," Zoro slurred out and sunk deeper into the floor. My face heated up but I leaned in closer to him. I got the flashlight on my phone and shined it in his eyes. They responded but he definitely drunk.

"Hey Zoro, what's my birth name?" I asked. Zoro scoffed still smiling.

"Its Ushio, like the sea. Its cuz you're eyes are so pretty," Zoro said and I sighed with relief. 

"He's fine!" Bonnie announced. "It's probably that unholy tolerance to alcohol he as,".

"I wouldn't doubt it," Brook said, drinking a water bottle. I got up off the floor and stretched. 

"So who's going to look after him tonight?" I asked.

"I can't, I have to be at my cousin Icebergs' house really early tomorrow," Franky said. 

"Neither can me and Luffy, I have to have this boating party early tomorrow with Kia's parents," Usopp said. I looked at Brook and Brook shrugged. 

"I can't either," Brook said. I groaned. Franky's eyes lit up and he looked at Usopp and Brook.

"Hey, why don't you take him? You know the effects the best," Franky suggested. I scoffed.

"I would but unfortunately, anything with a penis isn't allowed in my house," I said. 

"Damn, well, what if you snuck him as a girl?" Usopp suggested. 

"Theoretically, yes, but Zoro is very masculine and if I got caught I would be in so much trouble," I said.

"I got a wig, lipstick and a blanket to wrap Zoro around with for the camera placed in your house. Your aunts are gone anyways and no one will care about the drunk part." Bonnie pointed out. 

"I can't believe you're dumping him on me, okay fine," I retorted. "And why the fuck do you have a wig?" 

"Some of my brothers borrowed the truck so they could get drunk and they came back crossdressed. The shit is still in my truck, I never really bothered to take it out once I got off them and in there," Bonnie explained. 

"Hey, I went to that! I have pictures of them trying to pole dance. Shit was wild," Franky said. 

"Send me those, I need the blackmail," Bonnie said and Franky laughed. 

"Okay so whos DD?" I asked. 

"I can," Robin said stepping up. I carefully squatted next to Zoro. He was still playing on his phone. I weaved my arm under his and Franky came over to Zoro's other side and the both of us picked him up.

"Alright, let's get him to my place," I said. 

 

-X-

 

With Bonnie's long blonde wig, black lipstick, and a blanket wrapped around him, Robin dropped us off at the gates of my house. I entered my key code and the gate opened. I walk through while supporting Zoro with my arm wrapped around him. The night air was calming as well as we crawled to the back of the house where there was a window we could crawl through. I approached the window with caution and leaned Zoro against the wall as I opened the window. 

"Okay Zoro, a little help would be nice," I said. He responded with a grunt barely conscious and grabbed the edge of the window and I pushed up by his legs. He didn't respond as well as I thought we would and he slipped, causing my hands to grip whatever it could catch to keep him from falling onto me. Which ended up being his ass. I got two hands full of boy ass and the heat rushed to my face and I could barely keep myself from screaming. Zoro grunted and grabbed the ledge and pulled himself up through the window. I lowered my hands and pushed his calves into the window. He landed with a thud. Once I knew he was in, I grabbed the ledge and slipped in soundlessly. Once in, I closed the window and picked up Zoro from the floor. I wrapped my arms around him resumed to carry him to my room which was on the second floor. At the stairs, I had to lean on the railing to make sure we could up to the top. Every step was carefully taken in order so that we both didn't fall. 

When we made it to the second floor, a light was coming out from one of the rooms and I tried to quickly get to my room, at the other end of the hall. But the door opened and someone stepped out.

"Scarlet?" Donia called. My heart rate went through the roof. Luckily, Zoro was wearing a blonde wig and still wrapped up completely under a blanket. Even more so, Donia could only see our backs.

"Yeah?" I asked, still walking.

"Holy fuck who is that, is she okay?" Donia asked running up to me.

"A friend of mine, she's had way too much and I volunteered to keep an eye on her tonight. Just in case she needs to go to the hospital at some point," I said and kept moving quickly.

"Damn, oh yeah, you guys had that band battle at Shakey's. Did you guys win?" Donia asked, following. 

"Oh fuck! I completely forgot about it, I was so worried about my friend I left before it ended. I'll tell you when I find out, okay?" I said and Donia laughed.

"Yeah, I can get that, I can smell the alcohol from here. I'm heading to the kitchen, you guys need anything?" she asked. I was almost to my door.

"Nah, if she eats anything she will probably puke it all so I'll just give her water," I said, approaching my door. Donia laughed and started to head down the stairs but stopped.

"Oh hey, what your friend's name?" Donia asked. I froze.

"Uhhh, Zora! Her name is Zora," I said quickly. 

"Hm, pretty name. See you in the morning!" Donia said and headed downstairs. I quickly opened my door with my free hands and shoved Zoro in, and not very gently. He fumbled in and I quickly came behind him, shutting and locking the door. I sighed and pressed my head against the door. I took a deep breath and immediately got my desk and slid it over to the door, barricading it. No one would get in or out. I turned around and Zoro was on the floor with his eyes wide open staring at the ceiling on his back. I walked over to him and grabbed his arms, and slid over to my giant bean bag. I propped him against it and left to get him some water from the bathroom sink. Luckily, I had an empty thing of Jack that I reused as a water bottle when I didn't feel like going up and down my loft stairs. I brought it over to him and Zoro was in his own world. 

"Hey Zoro," I said and sat down next to him. He turned his head and looked at me through the darkness, I never turned on the lights.

"Hey Scarlet," he slurred and I handed him the bottle.

"How are you feeling?" I asked. Zoro threw back the bottle and chugged the water. It was half finished when he stopped and licked his lips.

"Thrashed," he said and I laughed.

"Yeah buddy you had a full bottle of Red Dawn," I said. 

"Yeah I figured that out after I tasted the coconut," he said and finished the rest of the water. He then looks back at me with pleading eyes. "C-can I have some water, Scarlet?". I took the bottle and ruffled his hair. He almost looked like a little kid, vulnerable and pleading for the simplest thing. 

"Yeah, sure you can, stay right here, okay?" I instructed and Zoro nodded before dipping his heading into his shoulder. I got up and filled the bottle back up with water, then came back and sat down next to him. Then I gave him the bottle and he took it.

"I really screwed up, didn't I?" Zoro said ruefully and rocked the bottle back. I laughed and shook my head.

"Zoro you just had too much, we've all been there," I said but Zoro shook his head.

"No, not that, I really fucked it up," Zoro said again then started to sip his water. 

"What did you mess up?" I questioned, looking at him. Then, Zoro rose his head once and gave me a look that I never have seen him with. His face was contorted and confused, eyebrows knitted and his lips still. 

"I was going to tell you about it at the New Years party you threw, but I couldn't. I was so close and then you got the phone call and I found out that you were with him and I just couldn't tell you, it would have been so selfish of me and Franky told me that if I didn't tell you then he would tell you and I just thought that if I let them be known, I could, I don't know." Zoro rambled. I was so confused, everything he was saying didn't make sense to me. Zoro was slipping again, the alcohol must have started to work its serious magic. I vowed to never let Zoro or Usopp have another Red Dawn again. It makes me sleep, but it something else to Zoro. I leaned into Zoro and took off the wig and rubbed off the lipstick gently with my thumb. His lips felt so soft.

"Zoro, what were you suppose to tell me?" I asked softly, like almost a whisper. Zoro looked at me so drunk he just started humming. After a couple of notes, I realized what he was humming. He opened his mouth and the choros for "Cherry Hill" by Russ slipped through his lips.

"Maybe I'm a fool, maybe I'm a fool for you," Zoro sang in a murmur, barely audible. His word slammed me in the chest. I thought it was a dream, it couldn't be real. Zoro never broke eye contact with me. I was stammering.

"Z-Zoro I-" I began to say but he waved me away.

"I understand if you don't feel the same, I was supposed to tell you but I fucked it up with a Red Dawn," he said and laid his head back, and closed his eyes. I took a deep breath and I reached out my hand to him and made contact with the side of his face. He looked at me shocked but didn't move.

"It's not that, Zoro, I promise. You're just really drunk right now and I think its better if we had this conversation in the morning, okay?" I suggested. Zoro smiled.

"You're like a fire," Zoro said looking into my eyes. I was taken back but kept looking at him.

"How so?" I asked, curious. 

"You're so bright, and you always move forward. You're so kind and beautiful, and you really get scary sometimes," Zoro explained, pinching his eyebrows together as if I should have known this all along. I laughed.

"You're so drunk, Zoro. Fires are really dangerous," I protested and Zoro chuckled.

"Yeah, and you're not?" Zoro clapped back, and I felt roasted. Zoro nudged my hand with his head and smiled, looking content. 

"Okay, you got me there moss head," I chuckled. Zoro closed his eyes while his head rested in my hand, his breathing began to even and the bottle of water I gave him began to slip out his hand and into his lap. I smiled and removed my hand, feeling the scruff on his face as my hand retreated. I took the blanket and got him onto the bean bag, then covered him with the blanket. I took the crinkly water bottle and refilled it, then set it beside Zoro on the floor. "Try and get some sleep, okay?". Zoro's eyes slit open and his lips parted.

"Goodnight, fire cherry," Zoro whispered and closed his eyes once more, letting his fall and his breath even.


	37. Grow.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After confessing his feeling for Scarlet, Zoro sobers up and feels guilty for telling her.

I could barely sleep that night but the alcohol I had drunk that night allowed me to sleep, and I didn't wake until eleven the next morning. My make up was still on but my lipstick had faded away sometime last night. I walked down my loft stairs and Zoro was still passed out. The first sight of him made me jump at first and then I remembered he had a lot of Red Dawn. I looked towards the door and it was still barricaded. Despite the amount of alcohol I had last night, my stomach rumbled. I looked at Zoro and he was passed the fuck out. Surely he would wake up and stumble out while I was gone to get a package of pop tarts and something for him? I decided that now was the best time to get food and moved the table and quickly ran down the stairs. I snuck into the kitchen and could have a ninja jealous by how I ducked, held my breath and avoided people like a pro. I dashed to the pantry and grabbed a whole box of pop tarts and swiped some crackers and bananas while I was in there. I expertly dashed back to my room and avoided anyone at all cost. I scrambled back to the room and shut the door behind me, just as I saw Zoro trip and fall onto the floor. I dropped the food and ran to him. 

"Zoro! Are you okay?" I asked and helped him sit up. 

"Uhhhhh I feel like shit," he mumbled. He put his hand to his head and cringed.

"Well yeah you're hungover," I said. He opened his eyes and he looked like death. He turned his head and made eye contact with me.

"Wait, where am I? Scarlet?" he said and pulled away.

"Relax, you're at my house, I snuck you in last night because your dumb ass had a whole Red Dawn," I explained. "So I kind made sure you didn't die from my own creation,". Zoro looked at me less confused but winced at the amount of light coming into the room.

"Damn why the fuck are there so many windows?" he asked and tried to block the light with his hand. I sighed and got up, pulling the curtains together, leaving the room dark. 

"Better, drunkie?" I asked and chuckled. Zoro groaned a reply. I walked back to where I dropped the food and picked up crackers and banana, then gave it to him. The water I gave him last night was gone so I refilled it while he ate without complaint. I approached him with the bottle and he took one look at it and laughed.

"Is that an empty fifth of Jack Daniels?" he asked, face full of banana. I chuckled and gave it to him.

"Yeah if you look up, you'll realize I sleep on a loft. I don't feel like walking up and down the stairs all the time so I just refill this," I explained and Zoro laughed again. 

"You live with billionaires and you're still frugal," Zoro said and shook his head, taking the bottle. 

"And lazy," I added. Zoro smiled a little bit. I then started to pick up around me and went to the bathroom to start the shower. 

"So who won last night?" Zoro asked finishing the banana.

"Uh I don't know, I didn't stay on the account of your health," I replied and poked my head out. Zoro got up slowly and began to walk towards me.

"Definitely us, right? Damn, I barely remember last night," Zoro said and leaned against the door frame. He was still wearing his clothes from last night and I tried not to stare at his arms and chest. Last night I was able to change into a regular t-shirt and some track shorts but Zoro passed out before he could really do anything. 

"Hey Scarlet-" Donia said as she opened my door. I panicked and grabbed Zoro before she could see him and shut the bathroom door, then locked it. I covered Zoro's mouth and pinned him against the wall with my body. "Damn okay, you got the drunk shits?".

"Donia, my breath smells like ass, my head hurts, and I smell like a frat house," I lied. Donia started laughing. 

"Holy shit, you're lucky you don't have to work today," Donia said and approached the door.

"Uhhh please don't even say the word 'work'," I pleaded with dread in my voice. After being hungover a lot, it's easy to act like it. 

"Hey did your friend leave? Zora right?" Donia asked, inches from the door. How could be so stupid to not lock the door back when I came back in! Donia didn't have a sense of privacy.

"Yeah, she left really early this morning so her Dad didn't know she was out," I lied again. Zoro gave me a questioning look with his eyebrow raised but his face was a bright red.

"Nice, I just wanted to see how you were doing, I'm leaving on business for your Aunts, so I'll be gone for three days probably, I'll leave you be then," she said and footsteps followed until I heard the door shut. I gave a sigh of relief and uncovered Zoro's mouth, then my head slumped onto his chest. 

"Zora?" he asked. I groaned.

"She caught me coming in with you and I told her you were a girl and in panic, I said your name was Zora, okay? Shut up." I said and looked up at him. His face was completely red.

Oh FUCK.

Zoro was BLUSHING. The words he told me last night finally hit me and I gasped a little. With the way he was looking it, it wasn't a drunk rambling. Zoro actually liked me. I stood back and coughed. 

"Uhhhh," Zoro stumbled and now I was blushing. 

"So ah, you asked what happened last night right? You said you couldn't remember?" 

"Yeah, I remember seeing you at the bar, you performing, and like maybe the first song we played," Zoro explained. 

"Well okay. Well during the first song we think, you chugged an entire thing of Red Dawn. I took you here and you might have...said...some...things," I tried to explain. Zoro's eyes widened with his eyebrows.

"What kind of things?" he asked. I opened my mouth, but nothing came, I bit down on my lip and took a deep breath. He has a right to know.

"You sang me "Cherry Hill," by Russ...said I was like fire...and called me a fire cherry?" I broke down for him. Zoro just stared at me with eyes still wide. His hands rose to his face and he drugged his face with his hands and fell back onto the wall.

"Oh my god I told you," he whispered. I made a sizzling noise.

"Yeah, uh, that definitely happened," I said. There was a very large awkward silence and I just looked down at the ground, blushing.

"Scarlet, I am so sorry. I didn't want it to be like this- I'm sorry. I fucked it all up," Zoro stammered. 

"Zoro it's okay-" I said but he cut me off.

"No its not! I know that you liked someone else and now I made things weird!" Zoro claimed. 

"No, I don't! Wait, are you talking about Ace? Zoro he's DEAD!" I snapped.

"That's why I haven't told you! I tried to and then you got the news so I just tried to make them disappear," Zoro explained. He uncovered his face and looked down. "I knew that you loved him and I told you anyways,". His voice was so full of regret. My body relaxed and I stepped towards him, taking his hands into mine and held them together. He opened his eyes and looked me in the eyes.

"Zoro, yes, I loved Ace, and I still do. But, you have to realize that he's been gone for almost a year, and we were only together for two months. Until then, I didn't think me and him would ever be together but, you didn't fuck anything up, I promise," I explained. Zoro looked at me with such awe that I could hardly believe this was real. His lips quivered as he looked at me.

"Scarlet, can I ask you something?" he asked, still holding his gaze. I raised my eyebrow.

"Yes, moss head, you can ask me anything," I replied, raising my eyebrows. He took a deep breath and I felt his hands get warmer.

"Will you go on a date with me?"

 

-X-

"Is it still too late to back out and become a loner for the rest of my life?" I asked looking at myself in the mirror.

"Oh fuck no, we find out that pretty boy has had feelings for you since October of last year and you're not even going to give him a chance? Come on Scarlet, it's Zoro, you've had a mad crush on him too," Bonnie told me while she helped me fix my hair.

"It's not that, its the fact that social awkwardness will find someone way to fuck this up and I know it," I explained. Bonnie laughed.

"This boy has seen you drunk, hungover, sick, bitchy, scary, and after you just woken up, and you still haven't scared him off. You'll be fine," Bonnie reassured me. 

"Easy for you to say," I mumbled while scrolling through my phone trying not to have a panic attack.

"Okay! I'm done, what do you think?" Bonnie and spun me around so I could look at myself in the mirror. I gasped.

"Damn," I said to myself. She dyed my hair red and curled it so that my hair had volume. My tan skin matched perfectly with it and my silver piercing only made it better.

"Good thing you'll be with bone head. He's intimidating enough to keep other boys away from you," Bonnie claimed and unplugged the curling iron. I was at her house so Zoro could pick me up so we didn't run the risk of my Aunts flipping out. 

"Thanks, Bonnie," I said, my breath almost taken away. "How long does this last?"

"It will come out with one shower, its the hair wax stuff I got online. Thanks for being my test dummy," Bonnie and sat down at her chair. I could hear her brothers screaming from the other side of the door and they were arguing over a video game. Bonnie opened the door while still in her chair and screamed at them to shut up. It was always this crazy at Bonnie's. Which is why she was always with me at my house. My phone went off indicating that I had a text message. I took a deep breath and it was Zoro, saying he was outside.

"I don't think I can do this," I panicked. My anxiety was shooting at everything that was calm, cool, and collected.

"Why?" Bonnie asked, knowing the answer probably but decided to ask anyway.

"Because my anxiety is so bad I think I might be having an attack," I said. Bonnie groaned and got up. She grabbed me from the arm and started to drag me outside the door. 

"I'm doing this because I love you, Scarlet. You can do this, sometimes you just a push. And I will that push for you," Bonnie said. She pulled into the living room and threw open the door. I shut my eyes and my heartbeat and anxiety were going crazy. She dragged me outside and suddenly my feet stopped. I pulled open my eyes and Zoro was standing in the driveway, Franky's jeep was parked as he held the keys. He saw me and walked up to me, smiling awkwardly. Bonnie stood behind me.

"Hey," he said, making my heart flutter.

"Hey," I replied weakly. He was wearing a nice button up polo shirt and an olive jacket with black jeans. I blushed. Bonnie let me borrow her clothes, which was a black lace crop top with sleeves and low rise blue jeans with a pair ankle boots. 

"I like your hair," he said and played with a strand. 

"Thanks, Bonnie did it," I explained. Bonnie groaned and clapped her hands. 

"Alright love birds, let get this show on the road. Please don't kill anyone, and you-" Bonnie said and then pointed at Zoro. She got up in his face and stared him down.

"I want her back by eleven at the latest, and don't try anything funny young man. Or I will beat your ass, you hear? Good. You two have fun," Bonnie said and backed off. Bonnie then turned to me and handed me a small black rod with weight. "This a window breaker for cars, if he tries anything, shatter his knee caps,". And with that, he strutted away and shut the door behind her. I put the window breaker in my pocket and looked at Zoro.

"Do we know a single peaceful person?" Zoro asked, raising his eyebrow.

"Nope," I said. "How come you have the jeep?"

"Franky gave it to me because he said he didn't need it?" Zoro said questionably. "He didn't really give me a choice,"

"Well, why don't we go for a joy ride then?" I said and walked towards the jeep. Zoro ran ahead of me and opened the door for me and my face turned red. "Zoro you don't-"I looked at him and his face was red too. 

"My dad and Franky grilled me," Zoro said and I decided not to argue and got inside. He shut the door behind me and he ran to the driver's seat and got in. He took a deep breath and turned on the engine, and I turned on the radio. Highly Suspect played through the speakers and Zoro chuckled then turned around so he could back out of the driveway. I looked at him and every part of his body was muscle, even his neck. It made my anxiety worse. 

The day he asked me out I told him that I would love to, and his face lit up so bright that he couldn't stop smiling, even as he was leaving through the window. Franky ended up picking him up since my aunts were gone and the rest of the day the only thing I could think about was me and Zoro together. I called Bonnie and told her what had happened. She flipped shit and before I knew it, everyone was calling me asking me if we fucked or if we were official. I couldn't handle it and only responded when it was Bonnie or Zoro, who messaged me when he got home. His message was so nonchalant that I just kept talking to him for the next couple of days. The school even went berserk, but Zoro shoved them all off and didn't speak to anyone about it. So they went straight after me, and the school had become another battleground once again. I had to duck and hide and eat lunch illegally on the gym's roof. Where only Bonnie and Law could find me. And the dojo team didn't make it any better. So I just became stone like Hawkeye, only answering when needed and didn't speak to Zoro or anyone the entire practice. Tashigi only brought it up once while in the shower and merely said: "I hope the best for you two,". The week after that, Zoro had asked if I wanted to go out that Saturday at five. Bonnie was with me and I said yes that I would. 

"So are you going to tell me where exactly we are going?" I asked and Zoro smirked.

"Nope, its s surprise," he said and there was a twinkle in his eye. We kept driving for another hour before I couldn't take it anymore and asked again.

"Zoro please, tell me!" I pleaded.

"It's a surprise, you'll love it, I promise, okay?" Zoro replied, I gave out a groan and he laughed then turned onto a dirt road.

"Oh this isn't murder-y," I scoffed. I looked at Zoro and raised my eyebrow. "I will shatter your knee caps,"

"Oh relax, you're the last person I would murder," Zoro said, smiling, and continued to drive down the dirt road.

"Oh that's so comforting, thank you," I said sarcastically. A little bit more down the dirt road, I began to see loads of people and cars parked. Zoro drove next to a truck that had been parked and parked the jeep.

"Come on!" he said and jumped out of the jeep. I opened the door before he could and jumped out. He was quick and was at my door when I got out. He just looked at and smiled and held out his hand.

"Did you bring me to a cultist hangout?" I asked.

"What? No, better," Zoro said and I took his hand. He leads me through all the cars and weaved between people until I saw stalls and stages set up.

"Oh my god," I stammered.

"Welcome to the Grand Line's music festival, Scarlet," Zoro told me. I beamed.

The entire day saw a lot of musicians play and we ate junk food so bad for us it could probably put someone in a diabetic coma. It was fun to laugh and bull shit around with Zoro. I didn't frown once that day. And we did it all completely sober too. Around nine we found ourselves at a bench that was up a little hill and back from the stage and watched the crowd dance around with the lights lighting up the scene below to the music while I drank an oreo mocha milkshake. 

"So, are you enjoying yourself?" Zoro asked, slowly sliding closer to me on the bench. I slid closer to him.

"Indeed I am, what about you?" I inquired. Zoro's face lit up and he smirked. 

"Considering that I didn't up in Impel Down, I am just fine," Zoro said and shook his head.

"They don't call it the rip off bar for nothing," I said and sipped my milkshake. No one ended up winning the grand prize money and it was one of Shakey's infamous schemes to bring in business while learning everyone's business. So the bet was called off and no one ended up in Impel Down. 

"Well, we have two more hours before I need to bring you alive to Bonnie, what would like to do?" Zoro asked, sliding even closer. He was so close I could smell his cologne. It was an ocean smell with a hint of leather. It was...alluring and I was drawn to it, closing the space between him and I. We were now barely an inch apart and I was looking straight up at him, into his eyes. He stared back at me and I could feel the heat rise to my face, but I tried to shove it down. 

"I think this is fine, honestly," I stammered, Zoro's arm rose and wrapped around me, completely closing the space between us,

"So this okay?" he asked, blushing too. I smiled very widely, face still red.

"Yeah, of course, it is," I said. Zoro smiled again and fully embraced me. My head pressed against his shoulder and the feeling of safety surrounded me and I had never felt so safe before in my life. 

"Hey Scarlet?" Zoro asked after a while of sitting like that, and pulled a bit away so he could look at me.

"Yeah?" I replied.

"Thank you for giving me a chance," Zoro said. "I know isn't something you do very often but thanks for at least letting me,". I raised my hand and touched his face, my fingers grazing his ear piercings. 

"Maybe I'm a fool you," I said sincerely. Zoro's entire face lit up and his eyes were wide with shock.

"How long?" He asked almost stammering. 

"Well, I didn't realize what it was until after nationals, but since, ah, last fall? Sometime last fall," I admitted blushing. Zoro was still in shock and suck up all the air below letting it out.

"Scarlet can I do one thing without getting mad?" Zoro asked very quickly. 

"I mean yeah, but what is it?" I asked. 

"Just close your eyes, you can punch me afterward, I'll take it." Zoro pleaded. I gave out a big sigh, my heart pumping with anticipation. 

"Okay?" I said and closed my eyes. There was a moment and I could hear Zoro take a deep breath before he pulled my entire body towards and his mouth collided with mine. I could feel his lips and his breath, and his arms wrapped around me. My body was on fire. He let go and my eyes shot open with shock.

"Okay, sorry, you can punch me now," Zoro said. I was so much in shock that he did that my brain was short fried. I took a deep breath and lunged at him, grabbing his face and pulling it into mine. His arms immediately wrapped his arms around me and held me. I let go and took a deep, hot breath. Zoro was also breathing deeply and looking up at me.

"Zoro, I'm not mad," I said, looking into his beautiful green eyes. "In fact, is it wrong to be...something more with you?". The way his face reacted to my proposal went blank. He let me go and my heart dropped to my stomach. He stood up and cleared his throat, then held out his hand for me. I slowly rose to take his hand, thinking the most ridiculous situations. He took my hand and pulled me closer to him with fast motion and landing his hands on my bare waist. My body shot up like fireworks. 

"I know this only our first date, but...Scarlet, would you like to in a relationship with me?" Zoro asked. My body and brain felt like they were set on fire. It so long to get to this point, but it was all happening so fast it was making my head spin. Did I like Zoro romantically? Very much so. Did I want to put in the effort that a relationship would need? I at least want to give it a try. Was I ready to get back on the horse after Ace? I feel like I am like I can handle it. What if I had commitment issues that I didn't know I had?! My head was swimming with negatives but the only thing I could do was focus on the heat of Zoro's hand on my waist. I took a deep breath and made my decision. 

"Of course I would,"


	38. Measures

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Zoro finally meets Scarlet's aunts.

I sat at my usual spot on the ground against Lily in the menagerie as I practiced drawing over spring break, trying to regain a sense of calm after all the crazy that has conspired so far my senior year. I tattooed Law's entire back, arms, and hands during the course of the year after he slapped down over a thousand dollars for it and specifically requested me in November when I officially got my tattoo license. 

Throne found out that I was seventeen when I originally started to work for him and he flipped out and almost fired me but Donia swopped in and saved the day and told him my life story over drinks that night. I wasn't there but according to the other employees who went, she didn't skip a detail. Throne forgave me after Donia saved my ass and let me continue working there, and even scheduled a photo shoot so that I could model our new merchandise. Ever since the billboard business had boomed and we had an online store. We had become nationally famous and people from across the country would schedule appointments. He even gave the employees jersey styled t-shirts with numbers and nicknames. Donia was 02 with "Vodka Aunt" spread across her back in white against a black t-shirt. Alexandria was 89 "Viking Mom" and Margurite had a 72 and "Metal Aunt". Stiles, who was our new guy was actually from Irland and still had the accent. His was 42 and "Weird Space Uncle" was spread across his back. He even drew an alien head on his on the front. He carried that title like it was true and was the best weird uncle I could have asked for. He always asks if I had eaten and would take the guys who were drunk so that they didn't bother me. When Throne gave me mine while he was wearing his 23 "Inked Pop" I let a laugh escape. A white and fresh 99 was printed on with an arching title of "Reckless Adolescent" across the back of the shirt. I quickly changed and we took a group picture where we all posed as if we were in an awkward family photo. 

Then everyone met Zoro. He came in asking for dragon tattoos to trail his arms and specifically requested me. 

"I find it funny how so many guys ask for her, you know? Why does it have to be her?" Stiles spat while I was in the back grabbing the ink I needed when I came out.

"I'm her boyfriend," Zoro spat back, looking into Stiles without fear. Stiles was a tall man of six foot four and had shaved the sides of his head but kept a medium length of dark brown hair on top. His beard wrapped around his face like a chin strap and had sharp teeth and bright blue eyes. He had tattoos from the neck down and sixteen mm black gauges in his ears that could hold pencils. He had a blue labret piercing and bridge piercings that had two silver balls. He looked lean in his black t-shirt and wore dark jeans that hugged his legs that day. Stiles was only in his late twenties but looked like he was only twenty-three. Stiles looked at Zoro up and down as I approached the counter and gave him the stink eye.

"Okay babe, you said you just wanted black and white?" I asked and I saw Zoro smirk a little. He leaned over the counter and made a point to touch my hand with one of his while I looked down at the sketch. 

"Yeah, but I was thinking, maybe make the eyes red?" he asked and I looked back at the sketch. 

"Actually...." I started but trailed off as I poured myself into the sketch. I took a red ink pen from the cup laying on the desk and started to draw more and more onto the sketch, creating red slashes and intense dimension in the drawing and added shading. I even picked up a super dark green and outlined the scales. "How about this?" I looked up and Zoro was mesmerized in my drawing. 

"That beautiful babe, yeah, definitely do that," Zoro said and smiled at me. He stuck in the chair for two days, seven hours each, so the staff got to get to know Zoro pretty well. The only issue that I ran into with tattooing Zoro was the beef of his arms that I had to take into account. Zoro found the process almost therapeutic but the tattoo stated at his shoulder where the head of the dragons was and trailed in a spiral down his arm to his wrist. So while he talked to everyone I had to twist and focus on his fucking tree trunk arms. Inbetween finishing his tattoo and Law's my hands needed a break and as a group, we went out to eat recently. 

But that was three days ago and today I finally got a day off. I could hear Lily's heartbeat as she laid on the ground, snoring. She jolted when the doors to menagerie opened and even I jumped. My aunts strolled in looking stressed and tired. Their snakes crawled out of the bushes and went to them, scenes their discomfort. 

"Rough day?" I asked and Hancock collapsed into her bed with Salome. Sonia and Marigold sat in their chairs looking tired as their bodies seem to have relaxed.

"Dear niece," Marigold said looking at me. "Could you be a dear and make us a drink?" 

"With vodka, please," Sonia said tiredly.

"That bad, huh? Yeah sure, Blue Heaven for Aunt Sonia, Beautiful Bastard for Aunt Marigold and a Tequila Sunrise for Aunt Hancock, right?" I asked. They all smiled while their snakes flicked their tongues.

"That would be perfect," Marigold told me and I closed my book and got up. My aunts knew that I was an actual trained bartender and enjoyed that fact. When days got rough, all they needed to do was ask and I would make them to their own preference. Sonia loved a Blue Heaven, which was blue raspberry vodka mixed with blue curacao and simple syrup a dash of lemon juice. I made her extra strong but made sure to mask the taste of the vodka. Marigold preferred a light Beautiful Bastard, which was a creation of my own. It was a simple Barcardi gold rum mixed apple juice and served with a white flower. I was still careful to mask the taste of the rum and but she didn't like a drink as hard as Sonia's. Hancock wanted something to numb her and give her ease, hence the tequila. A Tequila Sunrise was a standard and easy drink to make but I made to what Hancock liked, extra tequila. Extra Patron, which was a Mexican tequila that was somewhat hard to mask. I poured in the alcohol first, then the syrup and orange juice, mixing it up in a shaker with two extra shots. I poured it in the tall collin's glass and placed a slice of orange on the glass. I was often requested at the events when I worked because I was known for dangerous drinks. I even have a certificate from Capone's company giving me the title of "Most Dangerous Bartender" because I made my drinks super strong, but masks the taste of alcohol so that you couldn't taste it. I have fucked up even the highly tolerant with what I could do. I came back into the menagerie and Lily was still laying there snoring. I gave my aunts their drinks and sat back down, leaning against Lily. 

"Thank you so much, Scarlet. I find it funny that you were the dangerous bartender this entire time. We tried contacting you at one point without knowing who you were but they told us you quit," Hancock said as I opened my drawing book. 

"Yeah, one of the other male bartenders wouldn't leave me alone and I got a roommate at that time so I didn't need the second job so I quit," I explained. Sonia and Marigold sipped at their drinks and sighed. 

"Men," Marigold grumbled. 

"OH! That reminds me, the gala! Scarlet, have you gotten your measurements today?" Hancock asked. I felt like a bell slammed in my head.

"The lady never showed up, I totally forgot!" I said. There was an upcoming gala my aunts were going to with a bunch of other political and mafia figures. They asked me to perform a couple of songs and I obliged because I got all the free booze I wanted and I could invite whoever I wanted. I was supposed to get my measurements today so that my dress could be made but I totally forgot. 

"Wait, the seamstress was supposed to arrive at seven today, it's only six thirty," Marigold remembered. As if the universe remembered too, Sweet Pea came into the room.

"Miss Scarlet, there's someone at the door for you," she said and I got up again. 

"Is it the seamstress?" Marigold asked and Sweet Pea shook her head.

"It's a man with green hair," Sweet Pea explained.

"WHAT!?" Hancock, Marigold, and Sonia all said.

"Guys relax, it's Zoro. He's my boyfriend," I tried to explain but they were already mad.

"Why is he here!?" Marigold asked.

"How long have you been dating!?" Sonia asked.

"Are you sure you can trust him?!" Hancock asked.

"He's here to meet you guys, we've been together a couple of months, and yes I can trust him. Can you please give him a chance?" I asked. I also forgot that Zoro was coming over but no one needed to know that. I was standing and pleading with my eyes while holding my sketchbook. Sonia and Marigold looked to Hancock and Hancock sat there in thought while stroking Salome. 

"Sweet Pea, let the man in and take him in here. Stand by the door when you bring him in," Hancock said and relaxed her body. I sighed and sat back down and leaned Lily who was awake now and stretching out her body. Sweet Pea nodded and left and came back with a confused Zoro ten minutes later. Today he wore a black button up and nice jeans with black biker boots, at least trying to look nice for my aunts. He slicked his hair back which is what he started doing recently since his hair was getting longer. He entered the room silently and looked around and when he looked in my direction his eyes widened and he took a step back with caution. I heard Lily growl and start to get up. I caught her before she could and sat her back down.

"Lily doesn't like men you know," Hancock said, starring down Zoro while holding Salome. The boa constrictor flickered its tongue, catching Zoro's scent. I stood up and brushed myself off, Lily standing up too while never taking her eyes off of Zoro. 

"Aunt Hancock, Aunt Sandersonia, Aunt Marigold, this is my boyfriend Zoro Roranoroa," I informed while linking my arm with his. He stood his ground but I knew that he was secretly terrified. He was in a room with three powerful mob leaders with dangerous snakes draped across their shoulders and a tigress that would follow me around like a house cat. 

I invited Zoro over because we had been together since December, so it was about time that my aunts met him. The main problem was that my aunts didn't trust anything that identified as a male. I also wanted to invite Zoro to the gala because I wanted someone besides Bonnie there to keep me from going insane from boredom. I planned on inviting everyone but it was no secrete that Zoro and I were together, which raised the issue. My aunts were the only ones who didn't know about us and I wanted to be upfront about it before the gala. 

"It's very nice to meet you," Zoro said with his back straightened. He looked at each of my aunts and bowed slightly, showing respect. But it would take more than that to convince my aunts. They immediately went into parental grill mode, searing him down to the bone questions that were left open-ended. They didn't stop until the doorbell rang again and Sweet Pea had left to answer it. I took the chance and blurted out my question.

"I was thinking he could come to the gala with Bonnie and I so guys wouldn't bother us!" I blurted. Hancock still had her mouth open as if to ask another question but she closed it instead, listening. "I trust Zoro and I know that I safe around him, and if I were to bring him and my other friends around, creepy men won't crowd us. The men at the gala will most likely respect other men and view the women there as what the men bring. Whatever woman is there alone will most likely get swarmed so if I bring Zoro, they will most likely back off," I explained. My aunts looked at me holding to Zoro's arm as he stood behind me. It was silent until Sonia finished the rest of her drink and burped.

"I say let him, it's better than she and Bonnie are with him anyway, especially with pigs that go to the gala. He looks intimidating so I don't see why not," Sonia said standing up. 

"Does he have a suit?" Marigold asked I looked at Zoro. He kept his face calm but he shook his head at the question. 

"He doesn't," I said meekly and Marigold sighed deeply. Hancock got up with Salome and set him down on the bed, and walked out without a word. I looked to Marigold and Sonia and they just sighed, both getting up.

"Let us talk about it in private okay? Stay here with the snakes and Lily," Marigold informed and Sonia and her left through the doors. There was an awkward silence between me and Zoro before he took a deep breath. 

"You never said there would be a tiger," Zoro said, backing away while holding onto me as if to lead me away from Lily.

"It's just Lily, she's a literal giant cat," I said.

"Have you seen a fierce animal that you sure would never bite?" Zoro asked I rolled my eyes.

"Lily will bite you if you hurt me, she won't bite me," I explained and Zoro rolled his eye but smiled. "How are your arms?"

"Better but sore. How long do you think your aunt will be?" he asked but I shrugged.

"I have no idea," I said and leaned over to pet Lily and scratch behind her ears.

"Does this tiger have the same eye color as you, or is it just me?" Zoro asked cocking his head to the side as if to get a better view of Lily.

"I noticed that too," I said and Lily growled at Zoro again and tried to squeeze between him and I. The doors threw open and my aunts stood there, staring down Zoro.

"West drawing room, both of you, now," Hancock said and shivers were sent down my spine. We obliged and Ipet Lily one last time before leaving her in the room. I held onto Zoro as we followed my aunts to the other side of the house on the third floor. When we got there, a woman in a dark blue suit stood there waiting for us with a large box full of sewing material opened on a table. The west drawing room was an empty room with a marble floor and a tea table off to the corner. Art decorated the walls and fancy couches lined one the walls and windows on the wall across from the door that was usually covered with blackout curtains. The lady had short black hair and yellow eyes and had a measuring tape draped across her neck and stood next to a black changing curtain that folded together.

"You'll be measured separately. Scarlet, you'll go first behind the curtain provided," Hancock informed and sat down on one the couches that lined the wall with Sonia and Marigold. I looked up at Zoro and his face remained a calm mask. I let go of my arm and leaned back into a wall next to the door, crossing his feet and arms. I looked back to the lady but she said nothing, merely held out her hand to gesture to the curtain. I looked back at my aunts and Hancock just glared into oblivion. Sonia nodded her head to curtain to go and Marigold just sighed. I sighed and went behind the curtain without complaint and the lady joined me, removing the measuring tape from her neck and stretched it out.

"Please lift your arms," the lady asked and I obliged. 

"This is Clover, Scarlet. She fits all of our clothes and is a fellow Kuja," Marigold informed me from the other side of the curtain. Clover lifted my shirt and took my chest measurement. I looked at her chest and a simple white outline of a water lily was tattooed below her collarbone.

"Oh, okay," I said and Clover leaned down to take my waist while she muttered something. I was silent as she took my hip measurement, the length of my arms and legs as well as the length of them. She scribbled something on her clipboard she brought and started to mutter something again. The clipboard she brought was stacked with paper and she flipped through them, completely lost in her own thoughts. When she stopped, she whistled. 

"Thirty-nine, twenty-eight, and forty," Clover said, calling out my measurements. 

"Oh, you're Kaze's daughter without a doubt," Marigold sighed.

"Damn Scarlet, do you just do squats all day?!" Sonia asked as I stepped out from behind the curtain. My eyes went to Zoro and he just stood there trying to hold back a smile. 

"He's next," Hancock said and Zoro lifted himself from the wall and walked behind the curtain without saying anything. I took his spot on the wall and waited for Clover to finish up. I could hear her muttering again and I began to get impatient, tapping my feet against the floor. Zoro came out from behind the curtain while rebuttoning his shirt and Clover didn't bother reading out his measurements, instead, she went straight to the designs she had chalked up. 

"For him, we can just do a simple three-piece suit, I'm thinking grey but he was short notice so I don't have anything prepared to show you, "Clover admitted, looking at my aunts. 

"That's fine," Hancock muttered and Clover flipped through her papers. 

"But I do have some designs ready for Miss Scarlet if you would like to look through them," Clover said and handed the clipboard to Hancock. Zoro walked back over to me finishing the last button and looked at me with slight anxiety. He raised his eyebrows quickly and took a deep breath as if it was awkward to be near my aunts. I couldn't blame him. 

"Scarlet, take a look at these and pick out the one you like," Hancock said and handed me the clipboard. I took the clipboard and looked at the first design that scribbled on sketch paper. I looked at Zoro and his eye showed surprise but he glanced at me and shrugged. I shook my head and flipped through three more before I found one I liked. I handed it back to Clover at the page with the dress that I liked.

"Alright, so this one?" Clover asked and I nodded. "Then I will take my leave, both of your designs should be ready in three weeks, thank you for inviting me," Clover said and bowed at my aunts, then scurried to collect her supplies. 

-X-

I screamed into the menagerie and Zoro laughed, finally relaxed. 

"Oh my god, that was so bad!" I groaned but Zoro held onto my hand. Lily trailed beside me and would rub her head on legs as I walked and kept an eye on Zoro.

"I just shut up, they can't get pissed at what I don't say," Zoro explained, popping his neck. I could hear the loud pops from the bones of his necks. 

"At least it's over," I groaned but my body relaxed. My aunts had left us alone after informing us that they would cover the bill for our clothes, saying getting Zoro a suit would be cheaper than hiring a bodyguard. We were informed that dinner would be at seven thirty and told to roam the menagerie until then, that why we weren't alone. 

"You never told me you had a pet tiger though, and the dangerous snakes," Zoro informed me, smirking at me. I looked down at Lily who purred the feeling of my hands scratching her ears. 

"Relax it's Lily, and Salome has protected me since I was a baby apparently," I said. 

"Who leaves a baby with a boa constrictor?" Zoro asked, confused. 

"My mother, and my aunts apparently," I said, chuckling. Zoro just shook his head held onto my hand, smiling.

"It's weird being here, honestly. I'm in a billionaire's house, where the owners hate men but have a zoo in their backyard," Zoro said as if he was trying to make sense of it all.

"Last time you were here you were drunk off your ass and stumbling in and out the door, you never got to see the whole house," I explained. "There's an archery range, an east drawing room that basically used as a gym, a library, a wine cellar, a bathhouse-" 

"Wait, a bathhouse?" Zoro asked, stopping me mid-sentence. 

"Yeah, it's on the other side of the house but on the first floor, it's basically a huge heated pool that has minerals in it that are imported from like a hot spring or something," I explained. Zoro shook his and sighed.

"Do I want to ask what's for dinner?" Zoro asked, worriedly. "If I can't pronounce it, we can sneak away and eat cheap spaghetti at my place,". I laughed a little too hard and swung his hand in the air and swung it back.

"I think it's chicken," I said looking up at him, my face smiling bright and wide. Zoro raised his eyebrows but a smile still curled at his lips.

"Just chicken? Like, they got raw chicken and just threw it in the oven? What kind of white people shit is that?" Zoro asked sarcastically. 

"NOOOO!" I said laughing. "I think it's roasted with like a shit ton of wine involved somehow," I tried to explain. Zoro stopped walking and let out a loud laugh.

"Okay, that all you had to say. As long as alcohol is involved, I'm in," Zoro said and I stopped walking too, and then closed the space between us. I looked up at him and he took my other hand in his, still smiling. 

"Thanks for coming, I promise my aunts aren't as bad as they seem. They're just extremely cautious," I explained looking into his eyes. Zoro sighed and raised his eyebrows, then I watched as his shoulders slouched and he put his arms around me, resting my head on his right shoulder. 

"I can get that," Zoro said squeezing me. 

After dinner, Zoro said goodbye to my aunts but they merely sat there, I walked him outside and watch him drive away after we kissed goodbye. 

"See you around," I said, my lips curling into a smirk and I stuck my tongue out a tiny bit. I heard him drive away on his motorcycle as I opened the door and stepped into the house with the plump orange and pink sky behind me.


	39. Sanctuary

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Scarlet finds out the truth about her aunts' house.
> 
> *NSFW*

*NSFW*

 

I walked back into the house and my aunts had moved to the menagerie, holding their snakes. Lily was also waiting for me at the entrance and she rubbed her head against my waist as she purred. I looked at them as if I wanted to ask them what they thought out of curiosity. I knew they probably won't like Zoro because of how sexist they were, but I didn't want to keep him a secret from them forever, my aunts aren't stupid. Sandersonia was the first to speak.

"I see you like them strong and tall," she commented sipping at her teacup. I rolled my eyes but continued to scratch Lily. 

"I wouldn't be with him if I didn't trust him," I said with spitfire. Just because I knew they wouldn't like him doesn't mean it doesn't hurt when the people you love hate each other. Marigold set her teacup down carefully and a soft clank sounded as the cup was placed on the tiny teacup plate. 

"Scarlet, it's not as if we don't trust your judgment. We trust your ability to make decisions on your own but you need to realize that you're only eighteen, men are just after one thing at your age," Marigold said and set her jaw firmly.

"Or any age," Sandersonia sade like a shaded tree. I groaned and brought my hands to head. 

"Scarlet, do you know why men are normally not allowed here?" Hancock asked very calmly as she sipped her tea. Salome slithered around her neck and flickered his tongue. Her eyes went cold and her body seemed to have drained of life. 

"Because you lead a female organization that excludes males all together?" I asked, not actually sure why. There was a long silence and the sisters looked at each other and nodded as if in agreement. 

"Scarlet, this place acts as rape and sexual assault sanctuary. Most Kuja are recruited through here after they've been horribly raped. The mere sight of a man can shake them and in some cases, set back their recovery. Have you seriously never noticed the other women roaming our halls?" Hancock said. There was silence between us as I suddenly felt extremely stupid. This entire time I thought they were the staff but now that I realize it, those women looked nothing like the staff. I looked up at my aunts it finally clicked. My aunts don't trust men because they were used by men at such an early age it still effects now as adults. 

"I see..." I said, not really knowing what else to say. 

"Maybe if we were to get to know him more we would be more comfortable around him but we only allowed him to come over because their aren't any victims here recently. Please try to understand," Sandersonia told me. 

"Was my mom-?" I asked but Hancock held up her hand as if I needed to stop. I closed my mouth and she took a deep breath.

"She was as well, but she was able to end it all as well as their lives. It's part of the reason she married your father. To protect our organization and us along with it." Marigold explained. The words had been taken from my throat and I stood there in silence, finding myself unable to say anything again. Lily rubbed her head against my hand, letting me know that I had stopped scratching her. 

"But, Ace was a good man. And I see that goodness in Zoro. He smiles at you when you're not looking you know," Sandersonia said, finishing her tea. Heat rose to my face and I heard Hancock sigh.

"While we have you here, we should be leaving again tomorrow. Business calls and we should be gone for three days. We'll be leaving before you wake tomorrow," Hancock informed me and the heat dissipated from my face, leaving it cold."

"O-oh," I muttered, unsure at what else to say. I often left alone at home so I used to be alone but when I moved in things would be different for me, but that aspect alone was unchanged. I live in a mansion with a pet tiger who loves me, wonderful food that's cooked for me every day, I don't have to clean anything but my room (I insisted that I could do and that Sweet Pea could do other things and to leave it to me) I don't have to worry about any finical trouble, and everyone is so nice. I had hit the jackpot, the best life I could have asked for. But I had hoped for more, I don't know, family time? They were always gone and every time they leave I can't help be a little disappointed. 

-X-

Night had dripped into the sky leaving behind molten hot stars and a bright waning crescent. I thought about what my aunts had said as I laid in my bed and scrolled through my feed. I yawned but tiredness wasn't there with me. When I looked back up at my phone, a bright white box lined with green covered the top of my phone, A text popped up and it was Zoro. 

"Look to your right," I read out loud under my breath, almost muttering. I blinked in confusion and turned my head to the right. My vision cleared and I peered into the horizon, my breath was caught in my throat and my jaw dropped. Through the window panes of the metal french doors, his mouth was curled into a devilish grin and his green eyes let off a bright gleam in the dark. He was leaning over the railing to my balcony and looked straight at me with the moon and stars behind him. His arms rested on the balcony's stone railing and I watch him cocked his head still smiling. The sight of him made my heart leap and doubled in pace, beating against my chest. The wind tore through his hair and his dress shirt that unbuttoned at the first three buttons were at the wind's mercy too. I sat up slowly, pushing the covers off my torso let my legs dangle out of bed and let the sheets fall off my body as I stood. My heart was still pounding and I realized that I wasn't wearing pants and a bra by the way the air felt. I was just wearing a white crop top and normal black underwear and I wanted to shrink back into the sheets but my feet took another step towards the double french doors. I opened the lock slowly but Zoro still stood there, waiting for me to come to him, and walked out into the balcony and felt the wind tear through my own hair. 

"Hey," Zoro said giving me a devilish grin and I raised my eyebrow at him.

"What the hell are you doing on my balcony? And how did you get up here?" I asked, very confused, but Zoro only shrugged like it was a casual question.

"I never really left, I just roamed the vast amount of land until it was dark, and it's not a hard building to climb," his smile grew even wider as he climbed over the edge and stretched out his body, every muscle with it. I glanced away and took a deep breath. Zoro's dad hadn't been doing too well and caught an illness and was put in the hospital a week ago. Because of that, Zoro started staying his cousin's Perona house. Unfortunately, that house is technically our dojo coach Hawkeye Mihawk's house as well. I knew that he didn't really want to go back there so I didn't want to turn him away.

"Zoro," I said seriously, feeling the embers in my eyes smolder. "I need you to promise me something,". I looked back at him and Zoro opened his eye, his smirk dropped, and relaxed his shoulder then looked at me in the eye seriously.

"Yeah, babe, what is it?" he asked, concern lacing his tone. I looked more into his eyes and sighed. 

"You can't sneak in and out of here like this, can you promise me that you won't do it again?" I asked and Zoro nodded, knitting his eyebrows like he just had more questions. 

"Yeah, but can I ask why?" he asked, drawing closer to me. 

"Zoro, this is a rape sanctuary, if one of the victims see you-" I tried to explain and Zoro only stepped forward and outreached his hand to my lower back, then pulled me to him while continuing to look me in the eye. I felt his large hand on the flesh of my back and it felt as if it heated my entire body. I drew into him and he put his thumb onto my bottom lip and started to rub it gently. 

"I understand," Zoro said and a small smile returned to his lips. I pressed my body against his and my lips closed onto him, feeling the warmth his mouth brought me. Zoro moved his other hand to the back of my head and held it there as he used his hand pressed onto my back into him. I took my hands, placed one on the back of his neck and the other on the side of his face. The wind blew between us and it was blissful, but only for a moment. Zoro dug his fingers into my back and the grip on my head tightened. I gasped and Zoro brought his lips back to mine, almost with desperation. The breath between us became ragged and short, desperate for another taste. Zoro removed his hand from my head and ran it to thighs with his other hand that was on my lower back. Squeezing and clawing at my body as he lifted me up effortlessly and carried me through the French doors with him between my legs. He closed the door quickly with his foot and slammed me into the bed on my back while he still held me. My heart was beating hard, my breath ragged, and my body on fire by just the way he looked at me. He lifted his body off of me and his eyes and lips dripped. 

"Are you trying to make me lose control?" he asked, his breath ragged. I looked at him in confusion but never moved his hands from the bed, each hand on either side of my head. He started to pull on the sheets, balling it into his fists. 

"What are you talking about?" I whispered. Zoro looked at me with his face completely red and desperate.

"Y-you're not wearing a bar a-and no pants," he whispered, blushing greatly. I chuckled and I raised my hand to make contact with his face, rubbing my thumb on his cheekbone.

"You're the one who crawled up my balcony," I said, sliting my eyes and began to arch my back up as I smirked. Zoro blushed even harder and his entire face was red. I stuck my tongue out just a tiny bit and unbuttoned one of his buttons, laughing a little. Zoro blinked down to what I was doing with a surprised look on his face, then blinked back to me. There was only a moment of hesitation before that surprised look turned into a mad grin, his eye gleaming and slitting at me as if I was someone that was valued. He kissed me and moved onto the bed more, kissing me and slipping tongue into my mouth, pushing his tongue into me more and more. He moved his hands to my waist and clawed into my figure, my breasts, while he balled up my shirt into a fist with his other hand. He broke away from the kiss, gasping, and took his other hand ripped my shirt open like it was paper and tossed the fabric off of the bed.

"HEY!" I said, my heart now breaking against my rib cage. Zoro only smiled and I brought my hands to his own shirt and yanked it off of him forcefully. He put his lips back onto mine while I tore off his belt and his pants. Shredding fabric and losing control. Zoro brought his hands to my underwear and was ripped off into shreds. "Babe!" I said suddenly, this wasn't a game anymore. I was naked in front of Zoro and I looked around for something to cover me but he brought my arms above my head and held my wrist down. I shivered at the cold and looked away, too embarrassed.

"Scarlet," he dripped, soaking the air in something sickly sweet. I brought my eyes to him and his eye was almost clouded, looking at me and only me. I felt more embarrassed but he brought his lips to mine and pulled back. "Why are you embarrassed?" he asked, still trying to control his breath. I felt the urge to find the words wouldn't come. 

"I just... I am..." I muttered but Zoro still gave me the same before he kissed me passionately again. 

"You're beautiful, I just wanted to look at you. I'm sorry if I made you uncomfortable," Zoro said, removing his hands from my wrist and pulled away. I snatched his arm before he sat up and brought him back on top over me. I returned this kiss from earlier, and I pulled him out of his underwear and kept his lips on mine, only breaking away for heavy air. Zoro bit at my neck, leaving hickeys on my neck, my chest, my breast, my waist, and my inner thighs. Sliding his tongue into me and swirling around, leaving my body wanting to scream. I saw Zoro smirk as he rose from between my legs and pushed them further apart, slamming himself into me. I felt him in my walls and I felt him punching the very bottom of my stomach. What I thought was rough wasn't rough. The mattress itself was moving with the force of him thrusting and pulling back. The headboard was slamming into the wall but he only went harder. I wanted to scream but the bed was making enough noise as it was. But the way he moved in my body made me tremble. Between the kisses, Zoro leaned in my ear.

"T-turn around," he huffed, grabbing at my waist and flipping me over. I turned over and he raised my ass in the air as I laid on my stomach. He dug his fingers into my ass and started to knead it as he moaned. I could almost hear him whisper "forty" before sliding himself back into me, but at a different angle. I gasped and he slid way deeper into me, literally punching himself deeper and deeper. I moaned and my breath became even more ragged. He pulled out quickly and finished on the mattress and my body exploded and I collapsed. A moan slipped between my lips while still on my stomach and a wave of tingling pleasantness washed across my body like a sea. I could barely move and Zoro collapsed next to me, his breath ragged and his body sweaty. 

"That-was the- first time... we... ever-" he ragged while trying to catch his breath. 

"Yeah- I... know!" I said, catching my own breath. I found the energy to find the blankets that were pushed to the bottom of the bed and pulled them up over me and curled into a fetus position. I found Zoro's hand and pulled him under the blankets with me. He put his arm around me and pulled me closer to him as he held me. 

"I love you," I whispered. I felt Zoro's heart quicken but slow down to the steady and easy beat, as if he was surprised. He chuckled and kissed my forehead. 

"I love you too," 

-X-

Light beams poked into the room, warming it and giving it life. My eyes were groggy and were slow to open as if they were peeling open. I saw the french doors that lead onto the balcony still closed and the sunlight beams still pierced through them. I yawned while I sat up from the bed but a hand was wrapped around my waist. I turned my head around and Zoro was still sound asleep, his chest pushing and pulling like a tranquil sea. The corners of my mouth lifting into a smile and I turned my body so that I kissed him on his forehead. He slept soundly and I stood up and picked up the first thing I saw from the floor. I ran my arms through the sleeves of the black fabric as I wobbled my way down the stairs and into to bathroom across my bedroom. I used the restroom and brushed my teeth quietly, careful not wake Zoro. I splashed my face with cold water before washing my face with a scrub that Marigold had gotten too much of. When I splashed my face again with water, I turned off the water, washed the crusties from my eyes and reached my hand for the door handle. I opened the door and I saw Zoro wobbling down the staircase in his boxers. I walked over to the staircase and met him at the bottom.

"Hey, how long have you been up?" he asked groggily. 

"Like, twenty minutes I think? Time is an illusion," I said and Zoro yawned.

"Wait, are you wearing my shirt?" Zoro asked, finally opening his eyes up all the way. 

"It was the first thing I grabbed," I admitted while stretching. The shirt was huge on me, it ran along my body and stopped at mid-thigh, the sleeves were too big for my arms so that the tips of my fingers barely poked out, and overall, it hung on me like a sack. Zoro's face broke into a smile and pulled me to him, hugging me. I returned the hug but Zoro lifted me from the waist and held me in the air.

"You look fucking adorable," Zoro said laughing and I thrashed around, kicking and waving my arms around but he still held me there.

"I AM NOT!" I argued but Zoro still laughed.

"How does such a terrifying thing fit inside a small body?" Zoro asked and I only got angrier.

"I AM NOT TINY!!" I barked and Zoro finally sat me down as I growled. He hugged me again still laughing and held my arms at my side, still growling. I wasn't tiny damnit, Zoro was just huge.

"Compared to me you are, baby," Zoro said and kissed me on the lips, even though his breath was rank. 

"Go brush your teeth, beast man," I joked and Zoro leaned in more and breathed in my face. "EW GROSS!" I said smelling the fresh morning breath while Zoro laughed and ran to the bathroom. I was so ready to rip out his throat but I decided that I would still all of his jackets later as revenge. I already had two but I wanted more because they were comfy and because I would steal them from the locker room when he left them. 

I took off his shirt and threw it on the ground, no one was coming into my room today. No one was here today and the staff only really comes three days a week, and today was their off day. So it was just Zoro and I in the house. I grabbed a t-shirt of my own and pulled it over me while grabbing underwear and sliding them on. When Zoro came out, I was about to walk out of my bedroom door with my phone in hand.

"Where are you going?" he asked, scratching at his head. 

"The bath," I said bluntly and walked out of the room and down a long hallway and down a set stairs. 

"Hey! Wait up," Zoro said, catching up me while struggling to put his shirt back on but I kept walking down the stairs and turning onto another hallway. 

"Please, who said you could come?" I asked with coy when he caught up. I found the door to the bathhouse and turned the knob to open it. 

"Oh please," Zoro said, returning the coy in his voice. "It's not like I've seen you,". I felt his breath on the back of my neck and I opened the door to the bathhouse fully and stepped in. The hot air caught my lungs and I breathed in the steam. The bathhouse had one large bathtub that sunk into the floor. The floor was made of stones and plants sprouted at the edges of the room, covering all the windows. There were two T.V.s mounted onto the walls on either side of the bath and surround had been hooked up to the room. Zoro whistled as he entered the room and I grabbed a bath towel from one of the racks by the door. 

"Damn," he said and I tossed him a towel, which he caught by the fold. I silently walked behind a wooden changing divider and slipped off my clothes and put them onto the basket behind me. I took the towel and wrapped it around me before stepping into the water and taking it off. The water was hot and my body melted into the bath, relaxed. "Oh fuck," Zoro said, stepping into the bath and I laughed as he swam his way over to me. He had left his clothes at the side of the tub and seemed to not care if his clothes got wet.

"Hey Google, play some music," I said loudly and clearly. 

"Okay, playing some music on Spotify," Google home beeped and "I See You," by Missio played through the speakers. 

"Told you we had a bathhouse," I said as Zoro sat down next to me on a ledge. 

"It's definitely that," Zoro said and smiled. I sunk deeper into the tub until part of my face was underwater. I held my breath and my hair had a mind of its own, swirling around everywhere as I pushed off the ledge and began to swim around the bath. 

"It's basically a heated indoor swimming pool with minerals though," I said, thinking back to what Zoro said. I swam around a bit and Zoro sat there and the song changed to "You Killed Me On The Moon," by BLOW. I could feel the music in the bath and it was a pleasant feeling as the notes drift into the water.

"Hey, babe, come here," Zoro said and gestured with his hands to go over to where he was. I turned my body and cut through the water and made my way towards him. I stopped at his legs and rose from the water as it dripped off of my body and run down it. I touched his knees to pressed my weight on them for support. 

"Yeah? What's up?" I asked and Zoro's smile widened before he closed his mouth around mine and reaching for my waist, pulling me onto his lap.

"Nothing really," Zoro said, bitting at my lip and squeezing at my hips. I leaned more into him and rested my arms on his shoulders.

"Oh really?" I asked suspiciously, knowing something must be up his sleeve. Zoro's smile turned into a smirk and he never took his eye off of me.

"Well, if you wanted to..." he said, now moving his hands down my hips and onto my ass. I laughed and looked down and peered through the water and saw that he was already hard. I laughed even harder and touched his forehead with mine.

"What?! I was thinking about last night and see you all wet kind of-" he whispered into my ear, kneading and squeezing what he had in his hands. I kissed him but underneath he was still smiling. He leaned more into the kiss, slowly nibbling at my lips and pulling at my waist to bring me closer to him. I kept kissing him and he started to get really grabby, kneading and digging his fingers into whatever he had into his hands. I lifted up and sat down onto him, as he pushed into me more. Holding onto his shoulders, he kept his hands on my hips as I moved up and down onto him. I felt him feel my insides and I began to moan as he grunted, pushing my body onto him more and more. I went slow and sensual, different from last night. He kissed at my neck and sucked on it, giving it a huge hickey. He kissed me more and dug his fingers into me and tried to slam me down harder. He continued to grunt while I continued to go slow. 

"Aw, do you want me to go faster?" I teased, smirking. Zoro dug more into my hips and slammed my body onto his while was distracted. He grunted took control, continuing to slam me down on him.

"Don't tease me like that," he grunted while trying to find my lips. My body wouldn't respond to my control and trembled at what he was doing. I put my hands on his shoulds and dug my fingers into them, taking control. I pushed down harder and harder and he held me at my hips, grunting and gasping until he slipped out and finished in the water. The breath between us was ragged, short, and desperate to breathe between our kisses and grabbing. I giggled and kissed him again, and got out of the tub. 

Zoro and I ended up spending the next two days together before I had to make him leave. And when we kissed goodbye in the clothes he came in, I saw him leave for real this time. Through the metal gates and down the lonely dirt road.


	40. Broken Windows and Hot Bullets

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Stressed and exhausted, Zoro agrees to go to a gala with his friends and tries to have a good time.

Zoro Pov:

 

After graduation, it felt as if as nothing had really changed or was going to change. Everyone had been accepted into New World and the guys were going to live off campus in a house that Franky's grandparents owned near the campus. Nami and Robin were sharing a dorm room and Scarlet and Bonnie just finished the paperwork to move into an apartment together halfway between New World and here so that they could keep their jobs. We were still going to be able to see everyone and even some of the dojo team earned a scholarship for the university to play on their dojo team, including Law, Tashigi, Scarlet, and me. 

The major thing that will change is our living situations and the way less strict rules of the New World. That, and there was a pretty big chance my dad won't make it out of the hospital. His condition has been getting worse but he still smiles every time I see him. He caught a really bad flu a month and a half ago, at first we just thought it was stress but we had to admit him to the hospital shortly after he caught it. He sent me to stay with Mihawk who was my adoptive cousin's adoptive uncle. We never talked about it at school but even I forget I'm somehow weirdly related to him if I take into account familiar bonds. Since I started staying with them, I ran the dojo my dad owns and my time was split between school and it. I had to cancel two dates with Scarlet, but she would just come over with homemade fried rice and ask if I was okay. She would try her best to help but she knew nothing about running a dojo and I only knew because I watched my dad do it most of my life. When I wasn't running around everywhere, Scarlet would sneak me in her bathhouse when her aunts weren't home and let me soak.

"Come on, it's one night in a mansion with all our friends. Bonnie and I are teaming up with Luffy and Usopp and throughout the night we're going to start flipping shit upside down when no one is looking," Scarlet said while she laid in lap playing pokemon on her very old red 3ds. 

"Why are all my friends agents of chaos?" I asked her turning down the T.V. in the guest room. There was a knock at the door and Mihawk opened the door. He was in a just a white button-up t-shirt and dark jeans and he had a cloth thrown over his shoulder. 

"Perona is insisting on Mexican food tonight, care to join us Scarlet?" Mihawk asked rolling his eyes a tiny bit but you could see a faint smile across his face. I looked at Scarlet and she looked up at me and I shrugged. When I first told her that Mihawk was my sort of uncle she freaked out at first and took and shot of some nearby whiskey but overall took it well. And now that we were graduated, Mihawk was just our uncle was hard on us so we could do better. 

"Yeah, sure. What did she have in mind?" Scarlet asked but Persona came from behind Mihawk and threw open the door. She sighed and collapsed at the edge of the bed where Scarlet and I were sitting. She laid down in her bright pink baseball t-shirt and black jean shorts and kicked up her legs that adorned pink and black thigh high socks. 

"There's a new place that claims to be authentic and honestly I could use more of that in my life," Perona said. "Plus I've been CRAVING tacos,". I looked at Mihawk and he shrugged at me. 

"Honestly? Me too," Scarlet said glancing at Perona and Perona smiled at her. Scarlet and Perona seem to get along pretty well and Mihawk has always liked Scarlet. Perona and Scarlet have gotten to the point of mutual friendship and Mihawk has informed that if I piss off Scarlet, Persona will jump on my ass while I sleep. Scarlet even invited Perona and Mihawk to the gala.

Scarlet and I put our shoes back on and we piled in Mihawk's pride and joy along with everyone else. The 1975 Chevy Monte Carlo that had a custom coat of wine red paint and gloss with an engine that was upgraded so that it could rival sports cars. The seats were torn out and replaced with black leather ones and the radio and speakers had been updated so that you could feel the bass in the back seat. The car took the garage on the left side and Perona parked on the right side in her pastel pink bug knowing if his car was even scratched there would be hell to pay. Scarlet and I just parked in the street because he would no doubt sell our souls for it. After driving around for forever, Perona found the place she was talking about and rushed inside with Scarlet to grab a table while Mihawk and I argued over a place to park. The place was already full of people but I caught a glimpse of Scarlet and Perona walking through the crowd and grabbing a table without trouble through the windows of the restaurant. I smiled at the sight of her laughing at something Perona must have said. Today she wore a black ghostbuster shirt and whitewashed jean shorts with an olive jacket tied around her waist. She wore black biker boots and her hair and was thrown up in a messy ponytail. Recently she got an industrial piercing from her coworker Stiles and even though her ear was still red, the silver bar looked good on her. I felt so outdone by her wearing only a blue Jurassic Park t-shirt and black jeans but ever since she drew on my tattoos I felt like maybe there was more to my style than t-shirts and jeans. 

"You two should have talked sooner," Mihawk said bluntly. My head snapped back to him and I felt embarrassed. He caught me staring at her, again. 

"What the hell? What does that mean?" I blurted out but Mihawk just rolled his eyes.

"I mean you two should have hung out before she joined the team, but you two are so awkward it took halfway into your senior year to start getting serious," Mihawk said a-matter-of-factly. 

"She was with Ace! What the hell was I supposed to do? Swoop in and become a mister steal your girl?" I barked back. It was brought to my attention that Scarlet's mom, Shanks, Mihawk, and Robin's mom used to be really good friends in college so all of them kind of looked after Scarlet in their own way here and there. Shanks helped out with Scarlet's grades and got Kidd off her back after I accidentally hit him with a monster can that one time, Mihawk letting her join to the team and talking to her every now and then, and Robin's mom would update her aunts on little things before Scarlet moved out. If I ever hurt Scarlet, I would have to answer to a lot of powerful people. 

"You realize they were only actually together for two months, right?" Mihawk said raising his eyebrow. I groaned and threw my head back.

"YEAH! THAN HE DIED!" I pointed out but Mihawk shrugged.

"You've always liked her, it was just obvious to everyone but yourself and her," Mihawk said and got out of his car but looked over his shoulder to look at me from the corner of his eye. "Hold on to this one, okay?"

-X-

A three-piece grey suit with silver vertical stripes going down it and custom IZOD shoes that matched the suit. I was given yellow aviator glasses and a golden watch to wear to the gala. I tightened my black tie in the large mirror as Scarlet came out of her bathroom groaning. She was putting on three-inch black heels that had white lace drawn over them and a jeweled back on them. Her hair and makeup were already done and done by professionals. She had black lipstick that made her lips thicker than they actually were. She had fake lashes on and purple, dark blue, and black eyeshadow on with eyeliner that seemed to blend out. Her dress was off the shoulders and long and sleek with glitter and lace over the top of her dress. There was a large slit in the leg her skin seemed to have glowed. Her hair was done in a messy kind of pun that had braids wrapped around it and adorned an expensive silver and pearl hair clip that clamped over the bun and held the braids together.

"This is worse than prom!" Scarlet complained as she tried to get on her last shoe. At prom, she just picked up a black and red ombre dress that had a one shoulder strap. I was super nervous being her date to the prom but luckily Franky, Bonnie, Robin, Luffy, Nami, Sanji, Usopp, Kaya, and Brook were with me in a limo that Sanji, Brook, and Usopp rented. 

"I don't know, we get all the free booze we want this time," Bonnie pointed out coming out of the bathroom with her. Bonnie wore a two-piece dress with a dark blue laced top that plunged deep into her chest. She wore a ball gown style bottom that twirled she spun around. Her makeup and hair were done professionally too and that gave her a nude colored lipstick and orange, red, and brown eyeshadow that blended so that it looked like sunset to me with false eyelashes and dewy skin as well. Her hair was done in a braided crown and wisps of hair shaped her face. 

I was stuck on Scarlet while Bonnie and she argued over what was worse, prom or this. But before they decide on what was worse, Scarlet's aunts came in already ready and told us that it was time for us to go and that car was ready to for us at the door. I didn't say a word as I trailed behind Scarlet and Bonnie and crawled into the white luxury g wagon with red leather seats. 

Everyone was invited to the gala, EVERYONE. Luffy, Sanji, Brook, Franky, Robin, Nami, Law, Mihawk, Perona, Ussop, Chopper, me, and Bonnie. We all arrived at the white four-story Victorian manor at different times but found each other quickly as we arrived. There were over seven hundred people there milling around in designer suits and dresses and shoes with catering staff serving expensive food on silver trays in black suits. Security guards stood at every entrance in their own suits and despite being surrounded by the most powerful, I didn't feel intimidated. My girlfriend could wipe the floor with these assholes and I had enough confidence in myself that I could too. The clicking of her heels had a powerful base behind that corrupt those who dared stand in her way and I was there to make damn sure she had the greatest time she could possibly have. Bonnie, Scarlet, and I proudly entered the ballroom of the manor like we owned the damn place, and when a cater would pass our line of sight, we would clear their tray of champaign. Scarlet, Nami, Bonnie, and Robin even got the chance to perform songs that pissed off the entire room but made our friends laugh. They started off with "Hometown" by Cleopatrick and "Novocain" by The Unlikely Candidates, and performed three more songs like that after that. When I looked to her aunts, they were only laughing and relishing in the chaos their niece brought. No wonder they were related, they loved breaking down the patriarchy and social norms.

Usopp, Sanji, Franky, and Luffy and I had a drinking contest with the expensive whiskey they served and Scarlet, Bonnie, Nami, and Perona started to chug the hosts' vodka supply down with a contest of their own. Drunk and stupid, Scarlet and I snuck off to an empty bedroom on the third floor and I pinned to the wall, lifting up her dress and she bit my neck and ran her hands down my chest and unbuckled my belt. This time, I brought protection and she ripped open the package with her sharp teeth and slid it on me for me. I got between her legs and slid into her drunkenly. I could hear her moan and laugh as I only went harder, slamming her into the wall and feeling her body at my fingertips. Her nails were done and sharpened into black claws that could rival a demon and drug them down my back. I couldn't help smile between the kisses and feeling of her as I thrust more into her. She was warm and felt so tight as I pushed more into her. When I carried her, she weighed nothing to me and I just wanted to hold her more. I lifted her up and moved her to bed, slamming her down like I couldn't control myself. I tore her lacy underwear off and turned her around, gripping her firm ass and sliding my hands to her breast while I thrust more into her from behind. Before I could finish, she slid out and turned to face me, kissing me intensely. Licking her lips she dragged me into the bed and got on top of me, kissing me as she did the work. When I finished and slid out as she laughed, I thought to myself I couldn't be happier. Everything that stressed me out, seemed not to matter anymore. Touching her soft skin and kissing her lips, pulling her into me and sliding into her wet body? Hearing her scream my name and call me baby and tell me she loves me in between our kisses? Sure, my dad was in the hospital and I was trying to run an entire multi-thousand dollar dojo by myself with very little help from Mihawk, and I just graduated high school and everything that I had known was flipped upside down because of it. I had an older sister that died when I was ten and her death still haunts me, I was constantly stressed over social prison that wouldn't let me express how sad I actually am, oh and the fact that I have the overwhelming instinct to protect everyone and that was slowly crushing me? None of that mattered it was just me and my beautiful girlfriend in a billion dollar manor that we got to trash the entire night. Drunk on expensive whiskey, I just wanted to kiss her. Black lipstick covered my throat and chest, all the way down from when she gave me head. But who would know? Makeup wipes that were stashed in her expensive dark purple purse wiped off the lipstick and she applied more to her lips as I held her waist, looking at her in the mirror. She started to turn tiny things upside down and leaving the room, we quickly found our friends to start turning the place upside down. A new band was playing that was loud enough to blow the roof off the place, the performers took after Rouge Empire and shook the house. Speaking to the kitchens, Bonnie and Nami started to swipe food and shove it their purses while Scarlet went after the bottles, shoving them into her own purse and running out of there before the staff noticed us, flipping things upside down as went. 

Returning to the party and to our friends, we weren't the only couple who snuck off. Nami and Luffy found a quiet room of their own and came back with wild hair and smeared lipstick. Law found a rich politician son to seduce and got a good time out of it, while Bonnie did the same thing with an actual female military official that fell in love with her. Even Sanji found someone named Violet and we met her at the bar on the second floor. Laughing and conversating, the last thing we expected was gunshots. 

-X-

They were quick to act. Scarlet pulled out a 45 from her purse and Bonnie from her garter belt that was hidden under her ball gown. I looked around for a weapon and there were two swords crossed together above the mantle over the fireplace in the lounge we were drinking in. We heard screams and the lights shut off, leaving only the fire in the fireplace to be our only light. The door was thrown open and all of our friends were already standing up.

"ON THE GROUND NOW!" a man yelled and five men poured into the room armed with guns. Luffy was the first to throw himself at the attackers and Sanji, and Franky followed. Scarlet slipped behind the couches and ran around the men who entered the room and shot the first bullet. A man dropped and I rushed the men before they could retaliate and Bonnie shot a bullet into the man who took aim at me. Duck, roll, slice the throat and the fourth man fell. Sanji disarmed the third and Luffy axel kicked his skull into the ground, blood splattering. Franky took care of the last one by rushing him from behind and suplex his skull in the ground, then skull dragged him in the wooden floor. The other guests in the room stared at us but took the guns from the corpses.

"GET OUT OF HERE!" Luffy screamed and they complied, leaving us in the room with blood staining the floor.

"We need to get downstairs and make sure the other guests are alright and someone needs to send for help," Scarlet said, her hands still wrapped around the forty-five. 

"How many shots you got left?" Bonnie asked, stepping over a body. Scarlet looked at her glock and glanced back at Bonnie.

"About seven, right? Do you have any extra rounds?" Usopp asked, holding a gun from a body. 

"I brought an extra round so I have fifteen shots left total," Scarlet explained. 

"Well, that could be fifteen people," Sanji commented and lift a cigarette to his lips and lighting it with his silver Zippo. 

"Nami, Robin, Chopper, can you guys get out of here and get help?" Franky asked with a gun in hand.

"Already gone! You guys got this right?" Nami asked, dragging Robin behind and Chopper in tow. They should be able to make it out alright with Robin with them considering Robin was an actual trained martial artist and an overall genius. 

"Yeah, you guys get going! We'll meet up with you later!" I called and they left the room in silence. I heard Scarlet reload and the fire splashed across her face, illuminating her eyes that seemed to have frozen. 

"My aunts are down there with more Kuja, Bonnie?" Scarlet asked looking at her best friend, but Bonnie was already reloading and popping her neck. They only looked at each other before they ripped off the bottom of their dresses and discarded in the fire. 

"Much better," Bonnie said and reloaded her glock before both of them rushed out of the room.

"FUCKING WAIT!"I hissed and trailed after them. They didn't grab the flashlights that were attached to the guns of the intruders and gunshots blasted through the building followed by screams. I could only hear the clicking of their heels as I followed them into the darkness. Our friends followed us and when they blasted their guns, I could see them in the quick light cool and collective. There was no hesitation in their firing, just aim, and pull the trigger. 

"Twelve," Scarlet whispered to Bonnie when I caught up to them. I reached for the voice and grabbed Scarlet's waist, she was quick to try and elbow my face but I grabbed it quickly.

"It's me, babe," I said and I felt her body relax and pull her elbow back. The lights flickered above us and the ballroom was illuminated for a split second. There were tied girls stashed in the corner and armed men we carrying them out of the room. Gunshots could still be heard throughout the building and the front door was guarded. We stood next to the grand staircase on the second floor and peered around the corner.

"HEY! UP THERE!" a guard yelled and the lights went back out. 

"Shit!" Sanji cursed behind me and Scarlet and Bonnie rushed the stairs quietly. The lights were unstable and kept flickering while I trailed behind them. Three armed men in black suits rushed Bonnie and Scarlet, I came up from behind them and quickly sliced through all the three of them. Scarlet jumped up and twisted a guy's neck with her hands and I hear the loud snap of bone. Bonnie fired her gun and shot her guy in the forehead, point blank. More gunshots were fired from behind us from our friends and I grabbed Scarlet in fear. She screamed and I threw her over my shoulder as I ran for the exist. 

"THEY'RE LILIES!" Scarlet called, sorrow etching her voice but I kept running while she fired more gunshots at those who followed me. Luffy got in front of me and smashed the door into pieces, paving the way. There was an already a car ready for us to pile in and Nami was at the driver's seat.

"COME ON!" She screamed out of the window. I ran even faster and Franky opened the door for me as I shoved Scarlet into the car while everyone but Bonnie climbed into the car.

"ZORO NO! THEYRE LILIES, I HAVE TO GET THEM!" Scarlet screamed but I wouldn't let her get out of the car. I was about to crawl in when she shoved her foot into my chest and knocked me back, giving her chance to crawl out and throw me in the car, and slammed the door to lock me in. "GO!" she screamed and Nami floored it. 

"SCARLET! NAMI FUCKING STOP WE HAVE TO GET HER AND BONNIE!" I screamed but Nami kept driving, go faster and faster. I looked into the rear view window and I saw her eyes were crying. I heard an explosion and I looked behind me. The house was part of a raging fire, yellow and red swarming the house and spitting the hot flames into the air. Scarlet and Bonnie stood before it with guns in each hand and ran towards the fire. The door was locked but the window wasn't. I threw my elbow into the window, causing the glass to start to shatter.

"ZORO!"

"WHAT ARE YOU DOING!"

"DUDE FUCKING STOP!" 

Despite their protest, I made contact with the glass again and this time glass shattered everywhere. I shoved off hands trying to get me down and grabbed the handlebars above the window with one hand and threw myself out of the window feet first. Screams followed and I landed in the road with a hard slam as I rolled and got back up on my feet. There was a giant sting in my right leg and I looked back at it as I shook off the glass. Glass had torn through the fabric and cut into the leg, my red blood pouring into the white suit. I ignored knowing there were more important things than a cut leg. I looked back at the car and it was swerving all over the road. I looked back to the house and the fire was only getting bigger, I heard gunshots and screams and my feet acted on their own, running. I heard tire screech but I kept running and running, running into the fire. Smoke filled my lungs and I put my undershirt over my mouth as I tried to look for them in the rumble.

"SCARLET! BONNIE!" I called but my only reply was the sound of fire eating away at the house. I looked in the corner but the tied up girls were long gone. I kept calling for them but I got no reply. My heart was pounding nearly outside of my chest, pounding like thunder against my rib cage. My breathing was getting worse and I could feel the ash began to scratch at my throat. Fear crawled at my throat and my heart only slammed against me faster and harder. What if they took Scarlet? Sweat was covering me like a sheet of ice and I couldn't take it anymore, where was she? I wanted to hear her voice, even Bonnie's voice. I needed to know that they were okay or else I think I was going crazy. Despite my better judgment, I crawled past the debris and searched further into the house. The smoke was getting to my eyes but my body couldn't stop. Then, out of the corner of my eye, I saw a shredded piece of cloth on the floor was bunched up and started to catch the embers of the wood that is eaten away above me.

I panicked at reached for the piece of cloth, it was a deep purple and silky soft. I heard a hiccup from my throat as I choked, it was from Scarlet's dress. I called her name again and I didn't hear anything. I grabbed the cloth and searched deeper into the house. A swinging door leads me into a bloodied room that had been sprayed with bullet holes and large splotches of blood. The room was originally a pantry I believe and had a fridge, shelves, and tables that were all on fire. Blood had covered the walls and floor and the smell of sulfur and gunpowder were apparent. No no no no no no no no no, Scarlet's and Bonnie's guns laid on the floor and they had been emptied out, but neither of them were in sight.


	41. In Our Thoughts and Prayers

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After waking up from the gala, Zoro learns what happened and tries to move on.

I held onto the piece of cloth like if I let go I would lose my sanity. How could I let this happen? Luffy and Franky pulled me out of the fire as I kicked and screamed, tears streaming down my face as I was unable to breathe. I blacked out shortly afterword and woke up with bright lights and in a white room, IVs attached to me. I had been knocked out for three days and Scarlet and Bonnie hadn't turned up along with any of girls who had been taken.

"They just seem to have, disappeared," Mihawk told me while Perona was in the room. My elbow was banged and the glass that had gotten stuck in it had to be surgically removed. My leg was luckily cleaned before it could be infected but I would be informed of the nasty scar it would form. Everyone else seemed to have made it out fine Mihawk informed me.

"Except you," a voice said that followed a clicking of a sharp heel. Her eyes were on fire as she stood in front of me with a face that reminded of Scarlet.

"Hancock," Mihawk greeted and I looked at Scarlet's aunt with the same glare she gave me.

"You think I had anything to do with this?!" I yelled at her, some of my first words to this lady and they were those of rage.

"I just find it funny that my niece goes into a flaming building and it just so happens no one but you goes after her only for you being dragged out empty handed! WHERE IS MY NIECE?" Hancock barked, her words spitting poison. Her eyes had the same terrifying look that Scarlet could give off. I opened my mouth but Mihawk put his hand on my shoulder.

"You're accusing the man who risked his life to try and save Scarlet when all you did was flee?" Mihawk seethed, his yellow eyes shooting daggers at Hancock. She wore a low cut shirt that exposed a great portion of her chest and a long purple skirt, a large fur overcoat draped her shoulders and she clicked the floor with her four-inch dagger heels. Hancock's face was filled with rage and sorrow, tears started poking out from her eyes but she still held her bite.

"I was informed that she was in route when we left, but clearly I was misinformed," Hancock seethed. I glanced at the door and two women stood there looking just as angry. Sandersonia and Marigold entered the room and consulted Hancock, who started to cry. Marigold escorted Hancock out of the room but Sandersonia stayed. She sighed and seemed to have calmed down. She wore a blue button-up shirt and a black pencil skirt. A white blazer draped on her shoulders and her eyes grew sad.

"How are you holding up, Mr. Roranoa?" Sandersonia asked, looking at me in the eyes. The direct question shocked men and I was taken back by it.

"I- I don't know," I stammered. Mihawk took his hand off my shoulder and Perona sat in the corner looking terrified.

"Sonia," Mihawk said and held his hand out for her aunt to take. She smiled and shook his hand.

"Mihawk, are you looking after the boy?" Sandersonia asked, sorrowfully. Mihawk nodded and Sandersonia sighed.

"How could we let this happen, old friend? Not her too," Sandersonia said not letting go of his hand.

"We'll find them, it's going to be okay. Why don't you join your sisters? I got it covered here," Mihawk said and Sandersonia nodded. I could almost feel her heart quiver as she took a deep breath, leaving us with the clicking of her white heels.

-X-

On July 14th, Scarlet Boa and Bonnie Jewelry were pronounced dead along with twenty-eight other girls who disappeared with them. Of the seven hundred people that attended the party, twenty-eight percent died or went missing. I sat up front clutching a part of her dress that I had found. The hoodies that she took from me were returned to me along with gifts and t-shirts I had given her in a cardboard box that had been delivered to me by mail. In the box, was an invention and a funeral brochure for Scarlet's funeral and Bonnie's funeral. Both funerals were covered by the Boa Sisters and asked for nothing in return.

I wore a black suit to the funeral and sat up front with the Boa Sisters, Luffy, and Daedonia. Whitebeards came out of hiding to attend the funeral and people began to show up in groups. The service was done outside, under the blazing summer sun that was unwelcomed. A beach had been rented and pews had been set up that looked into the ocean. Upon entering the beach, there was a collage of pictures of Scarlet doing various things that had been framed and set up next to a table a black guest book. I sighed it with a heavy heart and looked to the photos of her while my chest seemed to have solidified into iron. There were pictures of her and me sticking our tongues out and with the dojo team, and us and our group of friends at prom. She had some baby pictures slipped into the college and she was adorable it made me smile. There was a picture of her and her mom, who looked just like her. Bonnie and she took a lot of selfies and made ridiculous faces that made me laugh and want to cry more. I stared at the photos until Franky pulled me away from them and sat me down on the pew next to the aunts. He took a seat behind me and patted my shoulder. His eyes were red and puffy but he tried to breathe. Scarlet didn't particularly believe in anything and so there wasn't a priest who stood before us telling us how we should put our sorrow in god.

Instead, a woman I didn't recognize talked about how great Scarlet was, and how was she going to be missed. She invited those who could to stand up and tell everyone stories about her, that way we could celebrate her life. But all I could do was gaze into the ocean as people talked about how fun she was to be around, how tough she was, and how beautiful she was. Law sat behind me with the rest of the dojo team and I could hear Tashigi cry. Mihawk was stoic like held everything together, but I couldn't. Tears just silently fell down my face as I sat there with my jaw clenched, unable to move. I remembered how we used to walk to the beach together and the time I almost kissed her. I could hear the ocean's waves roll and crash, the salty air weaving through my hair and carrying the sad voices of those who spoke.

Bonnie's was done in the same matter after Scarlet's with a new guest book and a new college was framed and put up that focused on Bonnie. I was moved to sit next to Franky, who has moved a couple of rows down. Bonnie's seven brothers took an entire pew and I still sat there frozen looking at the ocean until the funeral was done. Franky would move me around like a zombie and only when we were in his jeep did I admit to him that I didn't want to be alone tonight, which he completely understood. He drove me to Brook's house where Luffy, Nami, Sanji, Chopper, Robin, Brook and Usopp were.

We sat in silence as I was given a bottle of Jack Daniels original blend and turned on the T.V. wrapped in blankets in the living room on the floor. Everyone was silent and my throat was permanently closed, the only thing coming in or out was the harsh burn of Jack. Limp and emotionless, nothing seemed to matter anymore. This was the third funeral I had to attend, just a week earlier I had to attend my adoptive father's. I felt so numb as I lifted the cigarette back to my lip and held it there, breathing it in and out. Sanji and I sat outside holding a bottle of whiskey each breathing in cigarettes and washing down the taste with the burn of hard liquor. I could hear Nami, Chopper, and Franky cry inside and I looked into the forest that was behind Brook's house like this was my life now. I couldn't eat and my muscles were sore from me lifting weights trying to get my mind off it all. It was the soreness that was the only thing I could feel, the rest was just frozen cold. Like the look Scarlet's eyes gave when she was prepared to end a life. I leaned back into the chair on the back porch and I think I could hear Sanji say something but I couldn't understand what he was saying, it all just sounded like muffles. It was four am and I couldn't sleep, in fact, I hadn't slept well in two weeks. Sanji said something else but it was like I was trying to hear what he was saying from underwater, it sounded all gargled and unclear. I breathed into the cigarette more from my lips, and I could almost imagine the taste of Scarlet's again. I breathed more deeply but my body wanted to cough it all out. I lifted my hand to grab the cancer stick and I was done the taste with more jack. The bottle was almost empty but for reason, I couldn't feel anything still. Everything just seemed to be slower and time only crawled.

I blinked and chugged the rest of the bottle, some spilling from my mouth as I tried to kill my demons. Isn't the whole reason you drink poison is to kill what's on the inside?


	42. Bleach Baths, Cigarette Smoke, and Gunpowder

I held his head by his thick hair and dunked him again the bathtub filled with bleach.

"It's not that hard of a question to answer, just tell us where you took them," I said as he screamed into the bleach. I pulled his head out and blood was pouring from his nose and eyes. "Are you ready to talk?". He gasped for air and sputtered out bleach from his mouth. 

"Warehouse, near the wharf, red building, marked by an R and S," he sputtered. I pulled him closer to me.

"Password?" I asked, rolling my eyes.

"Red Angle, now please- I had nothing to do with it! Let me g-" he tried to get out but I shoved his head back into the bleach until he stopped moving. Bonnie appeared in the doorway eating Chinese take out. 

"What did this fucker say?" Bonnie asked rolling her eyes. I threw up my hands and shrugged.

"The red warehouse near the wharf apparently," I said and got up from the edge of the tub, crossing my reflection as I passed it. 

"As soon as we get these girls, man, I can't wait to go home," Bonnie said chowing down and I sighed. I couldn't wait to go home either. But our phones were smashed and we wrecked on the side of the road, where the rest of the girls we were with died. After we crawled back into the fire, we shot down thirteen men total before someone came up behind me and put a cloth over my mouth with chloroform. Next thing I knew, Bonnie and I were tied up in a truck already past the border. We took the driver's clothes and left our dresses at the sight, and walked to the nearest town, where we had been trying to lay low for a month and a half. With no contact back home, we were on our own. I sent a letter to Thorne's office because for reason that was the only address I could remember and I couldn't remember any phone numbers. It was like Bonnie and I had amnesia or something. 

"I say we head out tomorrow," I said walking out of the bathroom and taking a cigarette out of the pack that was in my pocket. I fumbled it as I brought it to my lips and held it there as I lit my Zippo lighter, igniting the cigarette. I breathed it in trying to calm down but my hands were shaking. I just killed another person. 

"Hey," Bonnie said coming over to me, her face full of concern. She wore a short brown wig that was styled like a pixie cut. I looked at my hands, the burned of bleach but at least the blood had washed off. I had on a blonde wig and a red jacket that two sizes too big. I felt the nicotine spread to my lungs. "Hey, we can go home soon, okay? We can see our friends and hey, you get to see Zoro! I'm sure they'd be excited to see us,". She hugged me but the room seemed to spin. I took another hit and I washed it down with the vodka I had laying on the counter, next to the guns we stole off of corpses. We stashed ourselves in a hotel room that was being paid for on a victim's credit card. We got the most expensive suit and had been here for a week. Before that, we were in a dusty motel we paid for in cash that we stole from the wallets of dead people. We stayed there for two weeks but before then we slept on a shed on a roof of an abandoned office building.

My hands hurt these days I was covered in bandages. I already got some new noticeable scars and Bonnie got a couple of her own, but not as many as me. I would rush in and she would wait and asses the situation, therefore I tended to get hurt more. My abdomen was covered in bruises and they constantly hurt. I hugged Bonnie back and took off my hoodie, letting it drop to the floor and I took off the green t-shirt that I wore and my shoes and crawled into the fluffy sheets. I missed home so much, I missed my aunts, Donia, my job, and I missed my other friends and most of all I missed Zoro. I wonder how he's doing, I wish I could talk to him because knowing him he's trying to tear down everything that stands between him and me. I sighed and Bonnie came in after me, crawling in the sheets after she locked everything up and brought me a bowl of ramen noodles to eat. I sat up and ate it silently, feeling the ache in my body as I moved every muscle so that I could eat.

"We head out in tomorrow night, for now just rest up, okay?" Bonnie said when I finished my bowl of ramen. I laid back down in the sheets after I put the bowl on the nightstand beside me. I let the numb feeling take over me as I closed my eyes and fell into a nightmare that awaited me when I finally fell asleep. 

-X-

I tossed my gun to a nearby standing girl and lifted up Ahsha, a girl with tan skin and purple hair that had the prettiest blue eyes. Her leg was broken and I wasn't going to leave anyone behind. I bridal carried her as I jumped over the railing and caught my feet, keeping my balance as I ran as fast as I could to the truck where other girls were being piled in. Bonnie was already in the driver's seat as bullets flew past me. The guards screamed and yelled for more reinforcements but the girl I handed the gun to fired shots behind her as we ran. 

"COME ON!" Bonnie yelled and started the truck. I sprinted with Ahsha in my arms and the girls held the double doors open enough for me to jump through. The girl jumped in and rolled in and I tossed Ahsha in before crawling in myself, the doors slamming behind me and locking. 

"GOOOOOOO!" I screamed and Bonnie floored it, tires squealing. The truck lurched forward and looked for Ahsha and made sure the rest of the girls were here. "Are you guys okay?". Ahsha groaned while laid on the floor and I picked her up and sat her down next to one of the other girls.

"It's not over yet," one of them said, looking at me. Gunshots pelted the doors of the truck and we all hit the ground who could. 

"Can this thing go any faster!" I called as I gritted my teeth. My left leg was on fire and bleeding. 

"HEY, I'M TRYING HERE!" Bonnie screamed back at me and took a harsh right.

"Do you even know where we're going??" I barked and Bonnie groaned. 

"Out of here that for fucking sure!" she called back and took another right, slamming me into the wall with my hurt leg. I gave out a blood-curdling scream and fell down my vision spotting. 

"She got hit!" Ahsha called, crawling over to me. 

"I-I'm f-fine," I said, trying to stand up. 

"Oh Jesus fucking Christ, Scarlet do you still have that zippo?" Bonnie asked I sat up, taking it out of my pocket. 

"Yeah, I know what to do, it's just the side of my left leg, no arteries or big puncture holes," I said and Bonnie sighed in relief. I pulled out a knife and heated it up as Ahsha took off my jacket and shirt. She gave me back my jacket and I slid it in my mouth and bit down as I pressed the t-shirt on the wound hard, trying to stop the bleeding. I elevated my leg on a seat and kept pressing down hard on the wound. 

"Do you think you can manage six hours?" Bonnie asked. I tried to breathe even breaths.

"Yeah, it's not looking bad, why?" I asked, putting more pressure on the wound.

"Law's hospital should be about six hours away if you can make it," Bonnie informed me. Luckily, one of the girls had a phone was able to pull up directions to the hospital that Law's parents owned. I kept focusing on breathing but my leg was on fire. How the hell was I able to carry Ahsha in my arms all the way to the truck?

"Thank you, for saving us," Ahsha piped up to me. "But who are you guys, exactly?". I took another deep breath and held out my free hand for her to shake.

"Hi, the wonderful lady driving us is Bonnie Jewelry," I said, looking Ahsha in the eyes.

"I like to drink if you any of you want to buy me a drink later," Bonnie said and laughed. 

"And the bleeding bitch before you is me, Scarlet Boa," I said trying to smile and the truck hushed. Thirteen girls were all crammed in an army truck, two benches on either side of the truck and every girl went silent. 

"You're a Boa?" Ahsha asked meekly, I looked at her confused and raised my eyebrow.

"Yeah, that's what I said right?" I asked, very skeptical. A collective sigh of relief fell out of the girls. 

"Let's get that wound checked out, alright? I'm a fan of your family," a girl in a black dress said standing up and crawling over to me. "I'm Farren, nice to know we were actually rescued,".

"Wait, so you came with us without knowing where we will take you?" Bonnie called, just as confused. Farren shrugged and leaned over me, looking at my leg. Farren had honey blonde hair that stopped at her shoulders and had freckles splashed across her face, she looked to be in her early twenties. 

"It seemed to be a better option than staying with those guys and getting shipped off to the worst places we could imagine, being used as toys," Farren said, applying pressure to my wound. We found the girls in the warehouse on the second floor in an office that was guarded by armed bouncer looking guys. We simply sniped them the best we could with our silencers and I had snuck behind them to catch the bodies so they wouldn't make any noise. The girls were huddled together in a corner tied up and Bonnie followed me inside and started to cut their ropes. Those who were free first followed Bonnie to a truck we had cleared beforehand. I picked up Ahsha after learning her name and ran out, the guards already alerted and guns blazing. 

"Okay, I can understand that," I said, trying not to scream as she applied more pressure to the leg and attempted to clean it with a first aid kit Bonnie finally tossed back to us from the front of the truck. "THAT WOULD HAVE BEEN GREAT TO HAVE YOU KNOW!".

"WE WERE BEING CHASED AND I WAS DRIVING BITCH! AT LEAST YOU HAVE IT NOW!" Bonnie barked back at me and I groaned. Farren explained that she was going to school to be a doctor and already attending med school for four years now. She was twenty-seven but looked twenty-three. 

Four hours into the drive, everyone seemed to get to know each other pretty well because talking was the only thing we could really do for right now. Life stories were told and secrets were shared between the girls. My leg still hurt and as Bonnie drove, every speed bump would make my vision spot. I was in extream pain but we got the bleeding to stop and we didn't have to cartelize the wound. But, we were going home, and that's all that mattered. 

 

-X-

 

"WELCOME HOME!" Bonnie screamed into the truck and slammed on the breaks. We lurched forward and I held on to Ahsha for support. She took my hand and leaned on me too while we slammed into the truck wall. Farren and Kendle were the first to get up and open the doors and I tried to get up and get Ahsha up. I was so excited, after nearly two months I was finally home. We piled out of the truck and I sucked up the air of the shitty city that I missed so dearly. I picked up Ahsha from the truck and bridal carried her while I limbed to the ER entrance. We quickly made our way as a group and stood at the sliding glass doors that welcomed us with cold air conditioning. 

"We got fifteen girls, someone get me Law!" I shouted as piled into the ER waiting room. I looked up to the reception desk and Law was standing there wide-eyed and frozen as I limbed over to him. "Oh it is so good to see you, you have no fucking idea!". His mouth was frozen stiff and his mouth opened. Nurses came from behind him and grabbed the girls and started to wheel them to hospital rooms but I just stood there looking at Law, holding onto Ahsha with my leg on fire. 

"You're alive?"


	43. He Just Wanted His Chipolte

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Law texts Zoro asking if he can drop off his lunch.

Zoro pov:

 

"Hey, can you bring me chipotle for my lunch? I'll pay you back," Law texted me randomly late in the evening. I rolled my eyes and replied back.

"Why do I have to get? Isn't it close to you?" I spat across the keys. Almost imminently I was sent a reply. 

"Because I'm stuck on desk shift and can't fucking leave. Please man?" it read and I sighed, getting ready to type back.

"Yeah sure, whatever." and I stood up from the weight machine. I looked in the mirror before I left and I didn't want to change clothes, it wasn't like I was going to be there long. It's not like anyone is going to stop me from wearing a black tank top and grey sweatpants to fucking Chiptole and then the hospital. I rubbed my hands over my arms, feeling the ink she drove into my skin. Two months, that's all it's been and every day did get a little easier, but it still hurts losing your dad and girlfriend. I slid on some jeans anyways and put on my boots before grabbing my leather jacket. Picking up my helmet, I walked out the door saying goodbye to Mihawk as I left. 

Two giant burritos later, I stood at the entrance of the ER and watched as all the nurses ran around. I pulled out my phone and typed out a message for Law.

"Hey, I have your god damn burritos, where the hell are you?". I awkwardly stood there until my phone pinged, indicating I got a new message. 

"Can you bring it to room 182? Just tell the nurses you have my lunch if they try a stop you," Law said and I shrugged. I knew where that room was, it was still on the first floor. I walked past the receptionist and she looked at me about to say something but I held out the Chipotle bag with "LAW" scribbled all over it. She relaxed her shoulder and turned away knowing that she didn't have the power to bitch at me for bringing the heir's lunch. I walked through the halls and stuck to the wall so that I didn't get pounded by an ER doctor running around. I hugged the wall until I saw the placard 182 on the wall and entered the room with my eyes halfway closed.

"Hey jackass, I got your lunch," I said and looked into the room. There was a woman with long blonde hair getting her leg stitched up and Law was doing to the stitching. The woman turned to look at me and her jaw dropped as my eyes widened. I dropped Law's lunch and I felt the air get sucked out of my lungs. Those eyes, I knew those beautiful eyes. 

"Zoro?" she said as a smile spread across her face. I was frozen in place, I just couldn't believe it. What kind of trick was this? She had new scars slashed across her eyebrow, her chin, her collar bone, and her thigh looked to be bandaged up.

"I already told her, thanks for the lunch," Law said approaching me after he put in the finals stitch. He patted my shoulder and picked up his lunch from the floor and left the room, closing the door behind him. Scarlet turned her body around to face and tore off the blonde wig and threw it onto the floor. I watched in slow motion her brown hair unravel just past her shoulders, her ends choppy and harshly cut. Her bangs were growing in her eyes they seemed to not bother her. Her hair hadn't bee that short since the day I met her but her face held the age since then, and her eyes were just frozen. She hopped up from the hospital bed and my feet rushed forward before she could take another step. I enclosed her in my arms and I held onto, picking her up and putting her back on the bed, my chest going crazy.

"Scarlet? Holy shit, don't you ever do that again!" I cried into her hair and she held me as my emotions betray me. I didn't want to let her go, she was finally back and I had her in my arms.

"I'm so sorry, I didn't mean to... I heard and oh my god I'm so sorry," she said, now crying too. I broke away from the hug but still had an arm around her waist. I touched her face and looked into her tear-swelled eyes. I closed my mouth around hers and I held her there until Law came back into the room.

"Alright you two, we're about to have to do the rape kits," Law said looking concerned. My head snapped back to look at Scarlet and my heart pounded out my chest but Scarlet kissed me on the forehead

"It's okay, I wasn't but the other girls may have been," she reassured me and I was able to breathe again. She pushed on my chest and I stepped back and she tried to jump down but I caught her.

"Your leg, what happened?" I asked, that anxiety coming back again. Her face did a cringing kind of smile and glanced at Law, then looked back at me.

"Just a...bullet?" she said meekly and my chest erupted.

"WHAT?!" I screamed but Scarlet held my face and tried to calm me down. Law came up behind me and patted my shoulder.

"She'll be fine, she will just be limping for a while but she will recover," Law said but my heart only went faster. 

"Should you be walking?!" I asked and looked back at Scarlet but she was jumping to the ground and trying to.

"Actually, she's not but you try telling her that," Law informed and I glared at him. I picked up Scarlet and held her in my arms.

"Which room?" I asked her and her face was completely red. 

"Wheres Bonnie and Ahsha?" she asked peering over me and looking at Law. Law shrugged and told us to go down the hallway and it was the third door to right next to the bathroom, then left to attend to more patients. 

I carried Scarlet to every room the girls were in, comforting them through the procedure and telling them it was going to be okay. I waited outside but I gave her my jacket to wear so she wouldn't get cold. I watch her slide it on carefully and the ends up the jacket slide over her own hands and hung from them, her fingers barely poking out. From what she was saying, the last two months hadn't been easy for any of them and most of the girls she came here to see would probably end up at her aunt's sanctuary for further treatment. I saw Bonnie and she seemed to be fine overall and hugged Scarlet when Scarlet found her. Bonnie didn't consent to a kit because she knew she wasn't during that time. It was so good to see them alive and well I felt like I was going to wake up from a dream soon. I carried Scarlet back to her hospital room and waited for her aunts to come and see her. Law had them called and we were told they were already on their way. I held her hand and sat on the bed next to her as she laid her head on my shoulder, almost resting. She told me everything that happened and I informed her of everything that had happened while she was gone, how we all thought she was dead and even had a funeral.

"We should probably keep your leg elevated," I said calmly, nudging my shoulder a little. Scarlet only slowly nodded and turned around and I lifted her legs to lay across my own. I watch her chest rise and fall as she lay down and looked at me. I could everything she felt in her eyes, all the regret, sorrow, and hurt. I found her hand and wrapped my fingers around, holding it. Tears welled from her eyes they poured down her face, creates rivers against her skin. She was so tired of being strong for everyone else, and I knew the feeling. I let her cry as I held her, knowing that words weren't needed. 

"Is she in here?!" a voice called from outside the room and Scarlet quickly wiped her tears and her eyes went frozen again, masking her emotions. The door was thrown open and all three of her aunts stood there looking frazzled. Marigold had a coffee stain on her white button up shirt and her hair stuck out every which way while wearing a pale blue pair of jeans and heels. Sandersonia was wearing a sleeveless turtle neck and an olive pencil skirt and her hair were thrown up into a messy bun, stick poking out of it. Hancock's was wearing a yellow shirt that the sleeves were pushed off the shoulders and a long skirt with heels.

"SCARLET!" Sandersonia said and broke from behind Hancock, rushing to hug her. Marigold and Hancock followed her and embraced Scarlet as she tried to sit up.

"Hey guys," Scarlet said while being squeezed. Marigold dug her head into Scarlet and cried.

"You're so grounded, you're so grounded," Marigold wept.

"You're not leaving the house until you're thirty," Sandersonia said, crying too. Hancock just held on the Scarlet while I awkwardly sat there in front of the ladies I screamed at two months ago. 

"Oh hey, Scarlet, I'm fucking starving-" Bonnie said entering the room and stopped dead in the doorway. Marigold snapped her head looked at Bonnie and cried even more. 

"GET YOUR ASS OVER HERE YOU DELINQUENT!"' Marigold screamed at Bonnie and Bonnie moved closer to the huddle of crying women. Sandersonia threw her arm around Bonnie and shoved her into the circle, hugging her too. Scarlet's head poked out from the huddle of heads and she looked at me, her eyes unfrozen and lit up.

"BONNIE?! BONNIE!?" voices called from outside of the room and Scarlet looked at me with fear in her eyes. A horde of footsteps sounded like a stampede and I slipped my arms into the huddle of women and yanked Scarlet from them. Her aunts glared at me but I swung Scarlet around and ran out of the room before Bonnie's seven brothers and parents could crowd the room. 

"IN HERE!" Law called and he had a door opened to a supply closet, motioning for us to enter. I trusted him enough to run to him and let him close to the door behind us. The room was dark and I slid down the door with my back against it, all while still holding onto her. 

"Oh thank god, I didn't want to get caught up in that horde of people," Scarlet whispered to me and I tried to hold back laughter. 

"Do you know how weird it is just to awkwardly sit there while your aunts are screaming at you and crying?" I said, holding back laughter.

"When your friends' parents are getting onto them and you're just sitting there like," Scarlet said chuckling. Laughter took over I could feel my chest shaking from it. I could hear her laughter and feel her own body shake from my hands holding onto her waist and thighs. It's a feeling a learned to miss and a sound I thought I would never run out of. I heard feet rush past the door with the squeaking of sneakers against the tile floor of the hallway. "I fucking missed you,". I looked to where I could hear her voice from and I could hear her heartbeat almost begin to slow and calm down. There was a sweet tone to her voice that reminded me of the feeling of drinking a cold glass of water. 

"I fucking missed you too," I said, leaning my head against the door and wistfully looking at Scarlet, who came into the light from the fogged glass window on the door. I pulled her closer and she wrapped her hands around my face. Closing the space between us she kissed me and I returned it, finally convinced this sure as hell this wasn't a dream.


End file.
